1
Enrollment
542
Elementary
DISTRICT 565 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MCFARLAND UNIFIED·NCES 062423013991
Horizon Elementary
800 South Garzoli Ave., McFarland, CA 93250 · (661) 792-3081 · Kern County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL542 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 62% of California public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-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
26.4:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.5:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
88%
476 students
DISTRICT 87% · 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 | 98 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 55 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 80 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 68 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 78 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 79 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 84 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (98) is 17% larger than its 6th grade class (84).
Student demographics
5%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 4% · 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
Horizon Elementary→McFarland Junior High
Based on grade levels within McFarland Unified. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
39.2%
CA avg 49.1% . +9.0pp since 2016
Math
36.9%
CA avg 37.7% . +7.5pp since 2016
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 9 points since 2016, while math scores are up about 7 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 11.0% | 28.2% | 22.6% | 38.2% |
| Math | 13.3% | 23.6% | 33.0% | 30.1% |
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 | 39.2% | 36.9% |
| 2023-24 | 41.3% | 33.6% |
| 2022-23 | 36.4% | 32.1% |
| 2021-22 | 39.9% | 29.4% |
| 2020-21 | 30.4% | 14.0% |
| 2018-19 | 50.6% | 46.3% |
| 2017-18 | 39.4% | 29.1% |
| 2016-17 | 30.2% | 29.4% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
37.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
28.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 28% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
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 Horizon Elementary
Horizon Elementary's state test result (37.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horizon Elementary this school | 542 | 87.8% | 37.7% |
| Ansgar Larsen Elementary Oxnard | 538 | 87.7% | 18.0% |
| San Marcos Elementary San Marcos | 546 | 87.2% | 22.6% |
| Ramona Elementary Montclair | 556 | 87.8% | 40.5% |
| Dr. Oscar F. Loya Elementary Salinas | 573 | 89.2% | 23.6% |
| Joseph A. Gascon Elementary Los Angeles | 513 | 87.5% | 27.5% |
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 Horizon Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.7% | #2,690 of 5,151 | #45 of 148 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.9% | #2,556 of 5,172 ▲ 150 | #42 of 150 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.2% | #3,014 of 5,172 ▼ 418 | #58 of 150 ▼ 9 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.4pp | #2,153 of 5,116 | #71 of 147 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 542 | #1,956 of 5,915 | #96 of 163 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.4:1 | #4,997 of 5,352 | #140 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 5.1% | #5,194 of 5,354 | #140 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 87.8% | #1,354 of 5,625 | #74 of 153 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.0% | #822 of 1,139 | #31 of 42 |
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
542
-22 (-4%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
26.4:1
was 25.6:1
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 | 542 | 20.5 | 26.4:1 | 88% (476) |
| 2023-24 | 535 | 22 | 24.3:1 | 84% (450) |
| 2022-23 | 555 | 22 | 25.2:1 | 81% (452) |
| 2020-21 | 564 | 22 | 25.6:1 | 84% (473) |
| 2017-18 | 521 | 19 | 27.4:1 | 85% (442) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Horizon Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (521 to 542); teachers up 8% (19 to 20.5).
About Horizon Elementary
Students in McFarland, California, attend Horizon Elementary, a medium-sized elementary school. Enrolled students number 542 students, in kindergarten through 6.
McFarland Unified runs Horizon Elementary along with 6 other schools, enrolling 3,282 students in total.
Hispanic students are the large majority at Horizon Elementary, with 97% of enrollment. The remaining shares are 2% Asian. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Kern County's population at about 57%. Horizon Elementary has a diversity index of 5%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
At Horizon Elementary, 20.5 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 26.4:1. For comparison, elementary schools in California average 22.3:1. Roughly 88% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 12 points above the 76% average for public schools in Kern County.
The allk12 Grade for Horizon Elementary is B. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 62% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Horizon Elementary would be expected to post about 28.1%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 37.7%.
Horizon Elementary is located in Kern County, where median household income is about $70,210, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 15% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 279 public schools in Kern County, with a combined enrollment of about 197,431.
The nearest public school is McFarland Junior High, at about 0.5 miles. Horizon Elementary has 6 other public schools within five miles. Among 7 nearby schools that report test results, Horizon Elementary ranks 3rd on proficiency.
NCES assigns Horizon Elementary the locale Town: Distant, meaning in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 4%, from 564 to 542.
The Horizon Elementary community page is open for posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 McFarland Unified
- McFarland High School Early CollegeHigh · 1,027 students
- Kern Avenue ElementaryElementary · 700 students
- McFarland Junior HighMiddle · 494 students
- Browning Road STEAM AcademyElementary · 453 students
- San Joaquin High (Continuation)High · 43 students
- McFarland IndependentCombined · 23 students
Other schools in McFarland
- McFarland High School Early CollegeHigh · 1,027 students
- Kern Avenue ElementaryElementary · 700 students
- McFarland Junior HighMiddle · 494 students
- Browning Road STEAM AcademyElementary · 453 students
- San Joaquin High (Continuation)High · 43 students
- McFarland IndependentCombined · 23 students
Other Horizon Elementary schools
19 other US public schools in 15 states are named Horizon Elementary. Horizon Elementary is the 7th largest of the 20.
- Horizon ElementaryBakersfield, CA · 845 students
- Horizon Elementary SchoolGranger, IN · 679 students
- HORIZON ELEMENTARY SCHOOLPORT ORANGE, FL · 618 students
- Horizon ElementaryJohnston, IA · 613 students
- Horizon Elementary SchoolMadison, AL · 567 students
Nearby schools
- McFarland Junior High0.5 mi · 494
- McFarland High School Early College0.7 mi · 1,027
- Kern Avenue Elementary1.0 mi · 700
- McFarland Independent1.0 mi · 23
- San Joaquin High (Continuation)1.0 mi · 43
- Browning Road STEAM Academy1.5 mi · 453
Frequently asked questions
About Horizon ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Horizon Elementary?
Horizon Elementary enrolls approximately 542 students in grades KG-06.
Is Horizon Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Horizon Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-06.
How many students per teacher at Horizon Elementary?
Approximately 26.4:1 students per teacher at Horizon Elementary.
How diverse is Horizon Elementary?
Horizon Elementary reports a student body of 0% White, 97% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 0% Two or more.
What district is Horizon Elementary in?
Horizon Elementary is part of McFarland Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.