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How has Golden Hills Elementary changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
663
Elementary
DISTRICT 487 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TEHACHAPI UNIFIED·NCES 063888008994
Golden Hills Elementary
20215 Park Rd., Tehachapi, CA 93561 · (661) 822-2180 · Kern County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL663 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 5% of California public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
22.9:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.2:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
50%
334 students
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 124 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 108 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 114 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 115 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 93 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 108 | 16% |
| Grade 6 | 1 | 0% |
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Golden Hills Elementary→Jacobsen Middle
Based on grade levels within Tehachapi Unified. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
26.9%
CA avg 49.1% . -15.1pp since 2014
Math
21.8%
CA avg 37.7% . -11.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 27 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 22 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 15 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 11 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 8.4% | 18.4% | 27.2% | 45.9% |
| Math | 6.8% | 14.9% | 25.6% | 52.6% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 26.9% | 21.8% |
| 2023-24 | 28.6% | 19.8% |
| 2022-23 | 31.2% | 26.0% |
| 2021-22 | 31.9% | 22.1% |
| 2020-21 | 34.2% | 23.5% |
| 2018-19 | 39.6% | 29.1% |
| 2017-18 | 47.8% | 30.5% |
| 2016-17 | 42.4% | 36.4% |
| 2015-16 | 46.0% | 33.0% |
| 2014-15 | 42.0% | 33.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
24.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.0%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-25.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 24% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 50% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Golden Hills Elementary
Golden Hills Elementary's state test result (24.1% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden Hills Elementary this school | 663 | 50.4% | 24.1% |
| Magnolia Elementary Oakdale | 636 | 49.4% | 34.5% |
| Dent Elementary Escalon | 671 | 50.2% | 37.1% |
| Sierra View Elementary Oakdale | 665 | 46.0% | 55.3% |
| Rio Bravo Elementary Bakersfield | 589 | 48.2% | 48.8% |
| Tompkins Elementary Tehachapi | 615 | 51.5% | 29.0% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Golden Hills Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 24.1% | #4,176 of 5,151 | #93 of 148 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.8% | #4,127 of 5,172 ▲ 58 | #88 of 150 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 26.9% | #4,286 of 5,172 ▼ 353 | #110 of 150 ▼ 20 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.6pp | #1,068 of 5,116 | #26 of 147 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 663 | #940 of 5,915 | #58 of 163 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.9:1 | #2,880 of 5,352 | #100 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.5% | #2,390 of 5,354 | #45 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 50.4% | #3,891 of 5,625 | #133 of 153 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.5% | #3,381 of 3,837 | #77 of 95 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
663
-20 (-3%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 810
Student : Teacher
22.9:1
was 26.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 663 | 29 | 22.9:1 | 50% (334) |
| 2023-24 | 677 | 28 | 24.2:1 | 48% (327) |
| 2022-23 | 660 | 26.5 | 24.9:1 | 41% (270) |
| 2020-21 | 683 | 26 | 26.3:1 | 41% (280) |
| 2017-18 | 694 | 27.5 | 25.2:1 | 49% (342) |
| 2015-16 | 645 | 27 | 23.9:1 | 51% (332) |
| 2010-11 | 659 | N/A | N/A | 39% (259) |
| 2000-01 | 794 | 40 | 19.9:1 | 31% (247) |
| 1990-91 | 810 | 34 | 23.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Golden Hills Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (694 to 663); teachers up 5% (27.5 to 29).
About Golden Hills Elementary
Golden Hills Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in California, with an address in Tehachapi. Enrollment totals 663 students across kindergarten through 5. The school is 43% bigger than the average for elementary schools in California.
Tehachapi Unified oversees Golden Hills Elementary and 6 other schools, with 4,156 students in total.
The student body at Golden Hills Elementary has no majority group. White students lead at 48%. The next largest groups are 48% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. In Kern County overall, the White share is about 44%. A diversity index of 54% means there is a 54% chance two randomly chosen students at Golden Hills Elementary are from different groups.
Its staff includes 29 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 22.9 students per teacher. It is about the same as the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Golden Hills Elementary has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 50%. The average for public schools in Kern County is 76%.
On the allk12 Grade, Golden Hills Elementary lands at D, ahead of 5% of California public elementary schools.
Golden Hills Elementary falls short of its prediction by 25.9 points. The model expects 50.0% for a school with its free or reduced-price lunch share in California; the school's rate is 24.1%.
Kern County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $70,210 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 19% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 15%. Golden Hills Elementary shares Kern County with 278 other public schools.
Tompkins Elementary is about 2.4 miles from Golden Hills Elementary, the shortest distance to any other public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes 7 other public schools. By average proficiency, Golden Hills Elementary is 6th among 6 schools close by.
Its location is classified as Town: Distant by the National Center for Education Statistics.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell from 683 to 663, a 3% decline. The student-to-teacher ratio dropped from 26.3:1 in 2020-21 to 22.9:1 in 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to Golden Hills Elementary can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Kern County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
915,075
Census ACS
Median income
$70,210
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
279
197,431 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Tehachapi Unified
- Tehachapi HighHigh · 1,260 students
- Jacobsen MiddleMiddle · 925 students
- Tompkins ElementaryElementary · 615 students
- Cummings Valley ElementaryElementary · 560 students
- Tehachapi Independent Learning AcademyElementary · 108 students
- Monroe High (Continuation)High · 25 students
Other schools in Tehachapi
- Tehachapi HighHigh · 1,260 students
- Jacobsen MiddleMiddle · 925 students
- Tompkins ElementaryElementary · 615 students
- EPIC de Cesar ChavezHigh · 614 students
- Cummings Valley ElementaryElementary · 560 students
- Tehachapi Independent Learning AcademyElementary · 108 students
Other Golden Hills Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 2 states are named Golden Hills Elementary. Golden Hills Elementary is the largest of the 3.
- Golden Hills ElementaryOroville, CA · 274 students
- GOLDEN HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLBELLEVUE, NE · 253 students
Nearby schools
- Tompkins Elementary2.4 mi · 615
- EPIC de Cesar Chavez2.4 mi · 614
- Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy2.9 mi · 108
- Jacobsen Middle3.1 mi · 925
- Tehachapi High3.2 mi · 1,260
- Monroe High (Continuation)3.2 mi · 25
Frequently asked questions
About Golden Hills ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Golden Hills Elementary?
Golden Hills Elementary enrolls approximately 663 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Golden Hills Elementary serve?
Golden Hills Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Golden Hills Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Golden Hills Elementary is approximately 22.9:1 (29 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Golden Hills Elementary?
At Golden Hills Elementary, the student body is approximately 48% White, 48% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Golden Hills Elementary public or private?
Golden Hills Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Tehachapi Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.