Is William Penn Elementary a good school?

William Penn Elementary ranks in the bottom 17.2% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend William Penn Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 255 students attended William Penn Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of William Penn Elementary?

Students at William Penn Elementary are 81% Hispanic, 10% African American, 8% White.

What schools do graduates of William Penn Elementary attend?

Students who attend William Penn Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Curran Middle High : Bakersfield High

William Penn Elementary

Summary:

William Penn Elementary is a public elementary school in Bakersfield, California, serving 284 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Bakersfield City School District, which is ranked 1338 out of 1568 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

William Penn Elementary faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, low academic achievement, and a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The school's chronic absenteeism rate has increased from 10.9% in 2018-2019 to 46.0% in 2021-2022, much higher than the district and state averages. In academic performance, William Penn consistently underperforms compared to the Bakersfield City and California averages in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics, as well as the CAST Science assessments. For example, in 2023-2024, only 23.26% of William Penn students were proficient or better in ELA/Literacy, compared to 27.74% for Bakersfield City and 47.04% for California. The school also has a high student-teacher ratio of 23.2, compared to nearby schools ranging from 19.1 to 22.0.

While the challenges faced by William Penn Elementary are not unique, as many of the nearby schools in the Bakersfield City School District struggle with similar issues, one exception is Downtown Elementary, which consistently outperforms the district and state averages in both academic achievement and student attendance. The declining performance of William Penn Elementary over the years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 3098 out of 5789 California elementary schools in 2018-2019 to 4852 out of 5862 in 2023-2024, suggests the need for targeted interventions and support to improve educational outcomes for the students at this school.

Detail:

Public K-5

2201 San Emidio St.
Bakersfield, CA 93304-1125

(661) 631-5440

District: Bakersfield City

SchoolDigger Rank:
4852^nd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $9,589

Students who attend William Penn Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Curran Middle
High:	Bakersfield High

Student/teacher ratio: 17.8

Number of students: 255

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

80.8%

African American:

9.8%

White:

8.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 98.4%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare William Penn Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details William Penn Elementary ranks worse than 82.8% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 17^th among 32 ranked elementary schools in the Bakersfield City School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 20.1. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (80.8%), African American (9.8%), White (8.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 98.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at William Penn Elementary is 17.8, which is the 4^th best among 32 elementary schools in the Bakersfield City School District. (See more...)

Compare William Penn Elementary employs 14.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at William Penn Elementary is $9,589, which is the 9^th highest among 32 elementary schools in the Bakersfield City School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

William Penn Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks William Penn Elementary 4852^nd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See William Penn Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Bakersfield City:

SchoolDigger ranks Bakersfield City 1338^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for William Penn Elementary

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Rank History for all students at William Penn Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	22.00	3784^th	4809	21.3%
2005	23.20	3752^nd	4822	22.2%
2006	21.49	3885^th	4818	19.4%
2007	33.25	3348^th	5113	34.5%
2008	21.65	4220^th	5113	17.5%
2009	20.72	4364^th	5193	16.0%
2010	21.69	4487^th	5314	15.6%
2011	18.60	4762^nd	5377	11.4%
2012	26.32	4227^th	5390	21.6%
2013	37.93	3465^th	5530	37.3%
2015	35.53	3288^th	5611	41.4%
2016	34.98	3408^th	5614	39.3%
2017	35.87	3376^th	5692	40.7%
2018	36.93	3345^th	5662	40.9%
2019	41.49	3098^th	5789	46.5%
2022	21.37	4707^th	5883	20.0%
2023	13.80	5414^th	5874	7.8%
2024	20.10	4852^nd	5862	17.2%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at William Penn Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	20.45	3120^th	3250	4.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at William Penn Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	47.53	2517^th	5084	50.5%
2019	50.64	2362^nd	5173	54.3%
2022	28.23	3979^th	5264	24.4%
2023	17.79	4849^th	5374	9.8%
2024	28.55	4085^th	5511	25.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at William Penn Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	48.31	2577^th	5413	52.4%
2019	42.35	2960^th	5492	46.1%
2022	17.94	4892^nd	5635	13.2%
2023	16.59	4995^th	5617	11.1%
2024	20.35	4671^st	5605	16.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at William Penn Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	27.86	3873^rd	5431	28.7%
2019	40.56	3002^nd	5510	45.5%
2022	29.18	3856^th	5663	31.9%
2023	16.03	5072^nd	5650	10.2%
2024	23.04	4440^th	5636	21.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at William Penn Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	53.19	2022^nd	4830	58.1%
2019	51.40	2198^th	4963	55.7%
2022	27.91	3882^nd	5084	23.6%
2023	15.66	4749^th	5098	6.8%
2024	25.77	4047^th	5102	20.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for William Penn Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	172	67	37	106	10	n/a	n/a	0	392
1989	182	75	29	118	8	n/a	n/a	0	412
1990	167	69	59	134	10	n/a	n/a	0	439
1991	162	64	47	143	14	n/a	n/a	0	430
1992	158	58	45	151	7	n/a	n/a	0	419
1993	155	56	36	164	8	n/a	n/a	0	419
1994	131	67	52	168	7	n/a	n/a	0	425
1995	124	70	31	181	9	n/a	n/a	0	415
1996	124	70	31	181	9	n/a	n/a	0	415
1997	125	50	42	165	11	n/a	n/a	0	393
1998	97	42	29	158	10	n/a	n/a	0	336
1999	106	43	28	158	14	n/a	n/a	0	349
2000	108	25	13	175	18	n/a	n/a	2	341
2001	101	27	15	186	11	n/a	n/a	2	342
2002	83	35	14	193	9	n/a	n/a	2	336
2003	83	35	14	193	9	n/a	n/a	2	336
2004	71	28	15	176	5	n/a	n/a	1	296
2005	55	29	11	142	8	n/a	n/a	3	248
2006	47	43	9	149	8	n/a	n/a	1	257
2007	52	44	8	172	4	n/a	n/a	4	284
2008	47	48	14	171	4	n/a	n/a	0	284
2009	44	41	12	160	6	1	3	0	267
2010	51	44	9	155	4	0	2	0	265
2011	54	36	7	175	1	0	2	0	275
2012	46	32	6	187	0	0	4	0	275
2013	47	36	6	188	0	0	5	0	282
2014	63	30	5	189	1	0	6	0	294
2015	53	23	6	196	1	1	6	0	286
2016	43	26	7	211	1	1	7	0	296
2017	36	20	4	220	0	1	12	0	293
2018	40	19	4	220	0	0	11	0	294
2019	35	13	12	227	1	0	9	0	297
2020	28	12	9	219	2	1	7	0	278
2021	30	15	7	205	3	0	6	0	266
2022	24	16	5	223	2	0	3	0	273
2023	20	23	8	228	1	0	4	0	284
2024	21	25	2	206	1	0	0	0	255

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at William Penn Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	392	15.0	26.1	n/a
1989	412	15.0	27.4	n/a
1990	439	16.0	27.4	n/a
1991	430	16.4	26.2	n/a
1992	419	16.7	25.0	83.1
1993	419	16.0	26.2	86.6
1994	425	16.0	26.6	82.6
1995	415	15.0	27.7	92.8
1996	415	15.0	27.7	92.8
1997	393	17.0	23.1	94.9
1998	336	17.6	19.1	89.6
1999	349	17.5	19.9	86.2
2000	341	18.0	18.9	89.1
2001	342	18.1	18.9	90.3
2002	336	15.8	21.3	90.1
2003	336	15.8	21.3	90.1
2004	296	15.5	19.1	89.5
2005	248	13.0	19.1	84.5
2006	257	14.0	18.4	80.9
2007	284	15.0	18.9	80
2008	284	19.0	14.9	85.6
2009	267	14.0	17.8	89.1
2010	265	13.0	20.3	92.8
2011	275	n/a	n/a	94.9
2012	275	14.1	19.4	n/a
2013	282	15.2	18.5	89.4
2014	294	14.0	21.0	80.6
2015	286	13.0	22.0	95.5
2016	296	13.0	22.7	89.9
2017	293	13.0	22.4	92.5
2018	294	13.0	22.5	90.8
2019	297	15.0	19.7	89.2
2020	278	n/a	n/a	92.4
2021	266	14.2	18.7	95.1
2022	273	13.0	20.9	86.8
2023	284	12.2	23.2	95.1
2024	255	14.3	17.8	98.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio William Penn Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	392	15.0	26.1	n/a
1989	412	15.0	27.4	n/a
1990	439	16.0	27.4	n/a
1991	430	16.4	26.2	n/a
1992	419	16.7	25.0	83.1
1993	419	16.0	26.2	86.6
1994	425	16.0	26.6	82.6
1995	415	15.0	27.7	92.8
1996	415	15.0	27.7	92.8
1997	393	17.0	23.1	94.9
1998	336	17.6	19.1	89.6
1999	349	17.5	19.9	86.2
2000	341	18.0	18.9	89.1
2001	342	18.1	18.9	90.3
2002	336	15.8	21.3	90.1
2003	336	15.8	21.3	90.1
2004	296	15.5	19.1	89.5
2005	248	13.0	19.1	84.5
2006	257	14.0	18.4	80.9
2007	284	15.0	18.9	80
2008	284	19.0	14.9	85.6
2009	267	14.0	17.8	89.1
2010	265	13.0	20.3	92.8
2011	275	n/a	n/a	94.9
2012	275	14.1	19.4	n/a
2013	282	15.2	18.5	89.4
2014	294	14.0	21.0	80.6
2015	286	13.0	22.0	95.5
2016	296	13.0	22.7	89.9
2017	293	13.0	22.4	92.5
2018	294	13.0	22.5	90.8
2019	297	15.0	19.7	89.2
2020	278	n/a	n/a	92.4
2021	266	14.2	18.7	95.1
2022	273	13.0	20.9	86.8
2023	284	12.2	23.2	95.1
2024	255	14.3	17.8	98.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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