How does Highland High compare to other high schools in Bakersfield?

Highland High has a Scope Score of 52.2/100, ranked #875 among California high schools. 12% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,138 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Highland High?

12.2% of students at Highland High exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 35.2% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Highland High?

16.1% of students at Highland High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days). This metric reflects school culture and family engagement, and is weighted at 15% in the Scope Score.

Highland High

High School

Kern High BakersfieldKern County93306

📍 2900 Royal Scots Way

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,649 California high schools

🌱

Building Momentum

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Scope Scores are SchoolScope's analysis of public data from the California Dept. of Education (CAASPP, chronic absenteeism, suspension rates). They are not official CDE ratings and should not be the sole basis for school decisions. See methodology.

School overview

Enrollment

2,543 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

24:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

82%

Teachers

106 full-time

College & career readiness

Graduation Rate

88.7%

AP Exam Prepared

62.2%

A-G Completion

49.2%

College-Going Rate

54.5%

Data source: California Department of Education — ACGR, CCI, CGR reports

Dashboard indicators

How this school's scores changed from last year to this year

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+3.8 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

-0.2 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

12.6%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 135 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic75.6%

White14.7%

Asian1.9%

Black5.0%

Other2.8%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Highland High
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	12.2%
Met Standard	23.0%
Below Standard	64.8%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Graduation rate: 88.7%

1.3pp above state avg (state avg 87.4%)

25% weight

✓College readiness: 62.2%

AP exam pass rate above state avg (state avg 35.3%)

20% weight

✓Met or exceeded: 35.2%

0.4pp above state avg (state avg 34.8%)

15% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 16.1%

18.2pp below state avg (state avg 34.3%)

10% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 35.2%

Above state baseline (state avg 34.8%)

5% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 12.2%

3.5pp below state avg (state avg 15.7%)

20% weight

▼Suspension rate: 6.9%

2.8pp above state avg (state avg 4.1%)

5% weight

Unlike traditional school ratings, we show our work. Every factor, its weight, and how this school compares to the state average — so you can decide what matters most to your family. The high school Scope Score is weighted across 7 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "35% proficient" for Highland High and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

12.2% of students exceeded standard while 23.0% met it. That exceeded rate is 3.5 points below the state average of 15.7%. That's near the Kern High district average of 10.3%. Nearby schools (within ~3 miles) average 10.6% exceeded — about the same. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

The graduation rate is 88.7%. 49.2% of students complete A-G requirements for UC/CSU eligibility. 54.5% of graduates go on to college within a year.

Chronic absenteeism is 16.1%, better than the state average of 34.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means