Enrollment
235
Elementary
DISTRICT 619 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BAKERSFIELD CITY·NCES 060363000322
William Penn Elementary
2201 San Emidio St., Bakersfield, CA 93304 · (661) 631-5440 · Kern County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL235 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
92%
217 students
DISTRICT 88% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 34 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 42 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 38 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 40 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 37 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 44 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (34) is 23% smaller than its 5th grade class (44).
Student demographics
38%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 30% · 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
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
25.6%
CA avg 49.1% . -5.4pp since 2014
Math
9.3%
CA avg 37.7% . -15.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 26 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 9 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 5 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 16 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 9.4% | 16.2% | 16.2% | 58.1% |
| Math | 1.7% | 7.6% | 35.6% | 55.1% |
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 | 25.6% | 9.3% |
| 2023-24 | 23.3% | 19.2% |
| 2022-23 | 21.0% | 13.3% |
| 2021-22 | 30.6% | 16.2% |
| 2018-19 | 50.4% | 35.0% |
| 2017-18 | 45.8% | 27.3% |
| 2016-17 | 39.8% | 26.4% |
| 2015-16 | 35.0% | 28.0% |
| 2014-15 | 31.0% | 25.0% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
19.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 19% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 25% 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 William Penn Elementary
William Penn Elementary's state test result (19.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Penn Elementary this school | 235 | 92.3% | 19.1% |
| Saturn Street Elementary Los Angeles | 277 | 92.4% | 39.1% |
| Stoner Avenue Elementary Culver City | 258 | 95.0% | 36.4% |
| Highland Pacific Elementary Highland | 285 | 89.5% | 13.4% |
| Arrowhead Elementary San Bernardino | 248 | 96.8% | 18.9% |
| Dr. Lewis Dolphin Stallworth Sr. Charter Stockton | 256 | 93.0% | N/A |
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 William Penn Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.1% | #4,644 of 5,151 | #123 of 148 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 9.3% | #5,074 of 5,172 ▼ 816 | #143 of 150 ▼ 49 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 25.6% | #4,424 of 5,172 ▲ 41 | #116 of 150 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -5.9pp | #423 of 5,116 | #8 of 147 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 235 | #5,191 of 5,915 | #141 of 163 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.8:1 | #114 of 5,352 | #4 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 37.5% | #3,581 of 5,354 | #76 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 92.3% | #794 of 5,625 | #47 of 153 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -20.1% | #1,410 of 3,837 | #22 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
235
-31 (-12%) vs 2020
-45% since 1990-91, when it was 430
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 19.0:1
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 | 235 | 14 | 16.8:1 | 92% (217) |
| 2023-24 | 255 | 14.3 | 17.8:1 | 98% (251) |
| 2022-23 | 284 | 12.2 | 23.3:1 | 95% (270) |
| 2020-21 | 266 | 14 | 19.0:1 | 95% (253) |
| 2017-18 | 294 | 13 | 22.6:1 | 91% (267) |
| 2015-16 | 296 | 13 | 22.8:1 | 90% (266) |
| 2010-11 | 275 | N/A | N/A | 95% (261) |
| 2000-01 | 342 | 18 | 19.0:1 | 90% (307) |
| 1990-91 | 430 | 16 | 26.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for William Penn Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 20% (294 to 235); teachers up 7% (13 to 14).
About William Penn Elementary
William Penn Elementary is a small elementary school in Bakersfield, California, administered by Bakersfield City. The school's 235 students are in kindergarten through 5. Enrollment is 49% lower than the average for elementary schools in California, which is about 465.
Federal data list 44 schools in Bakersfield City, with 28,365 students enrolled.
Hispanic students account for 77% of enrollment at William Penn Elementary. Enrollment also includes 12% Black and 10% White. The school's Hispanic share is 21 points above the 57% share among Kern County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at William Penn Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 38%.
Its 14 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 16.8:1. That ratio is under the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 92%. For comparison, public schools in Kern County average 76%.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for William Penn Elementary is 25.4%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 19.1%.
Census estimates describe Kern County this way: 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. The public schools of Kern County number 279 and enroll about 197,431.
Nearby, Bakersfield High is about 0.4 miles away. William Penn Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Nearby schools average 28.9% on proficiency, and William Penn Elementary is below that at 19.1%.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Large, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment was 266 in 2020-21 and 235 in 2024-25, a decrease of 31 students. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 19.0:1; by 2024-25 it was 16.8:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at William Penn Elementary. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Bakersfield City
- Curran MiddleMiddle · 973 students
- Colonel Howard Nichols ElementaryElementary · 960 students
- Voorhies ElementaryElementary · 915 students
- Walter Stiern MiddleMiddle · 891 students
- Horace Mann ElementaryElementary · 870 students
- Bessie E. Owens ElementaryElementary · 867 students
Other schools in Bakersfield
- Bakersfield HighHigh · 3,069 students
- Ridgeview HighHigh · 2,575 students
- Highland HighHigh · 2,530 students
- Stockdale HighHigh · 2,398 students
- Liberty HighHigh · 2,369 students
- East Bakersfield HighHigh · 2,331 students
Other William Penn Elementary schools
3 other US public schools in 2 states are named William Penn Elementary. William Penn Elementary is the 3rd largest of the 4.
- William Penn Elementary SchoolMonongahela, PA · 333 students
- William Penn Elementary SchoolBethlehem, PA · 242 students
- William Penn Elementary SchoolBethel Park, PA · 212 students
Nearby schools
- Bakersfield High0.4 mi · 3,069
- Franklin Elementary0.6 mi · 475
- Roosevelt Elementary0.6 mi · 392
- Central Academy of Arts and Technology0.8 mi · 179
- Rafer Johnson0.8 mi · 32
- Kern County Community0.9 mi · 325
Frequently asked questions
About William Penn ElementaryHow many students attend William Penn Elementary?
William Penn Elementary enrolls approximately 235 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does William Penn Elementary serve?
William Penn Elementary serves grades KG-05.
How many teachers does William Penn Elementary have?
William Penn Elementary employs 14 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.8:1.
How diverse is William Penn Elementary?
William Penn Elementary reports a student body of 10% White, 77% Hispanic, 12% Black.
Who oversees William Penn Elementary?
William Penn Elementary is overseen by Bakersfield City in Kern County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.