School Profile · Lake Isabella
Kern Valley High: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.
Kern Valley posts low test scores — and attendance holds near the state average — families haven't checked out. If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.
3340 Erskine Creek Road, 93240·Kern High·Lake Isabella·Grades 9-12·516 students·77% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(760) 379-2611·Website
Scope Score
33
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,307 statewide · #20 of 25 in Kern High
Kern Valley High scores 33 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 25th percentile of 1,739 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
Most rating sites would stop at “21% proficient” and call it done. Kern Valley deserves a closer read. The school sits in Lake Isabella, where three in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.
The story this school is actually telling
Proficient by 11th grade
21%
State 35%
Graduate
87%
State 88%
Pass an AP exam
0%
State 36%
Of 100 students here: 21 are proficient by 11th grade → 87 graduate → 0 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.
The 6 things our score weighs
Graduation rate
87.4%
State 87.6%
0.2pp below state avg
Exceeded standard
4.2%
State 15.5%
11.3pp below state avg
College readiness
0.0%
State 35.5%
AP exam pass rate below state avg
Met or exceeded
20.9%
State 34.6%
13.7pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
32.8%
State 32.1%
0.7pp above state avg
Suspension rate
8.4%
State 4.0%
4.4pp above state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Your other options
The community around it
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic21.5%
White61.8%
Black0.8%
Other15.9%
GenderFemale 49.8%Male 50.2%
Resources & Access
Enrollment
516
934 below CA avg (~1,450)
Free/Reduced Lunch
77%
13pp above CA avg (64%)
Student-Teacher Ratio
18:1
3 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$28,280
District avg: $13,940 · CA avg: $14,815 · School-level · CDE ESSA
Teacher Salary Range
$62,889 – $134,832
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Kern Valley High in Lake Isabella, 27.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 47.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Kern Valley High trails its district average for low-income students by 19.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (8.4% Math proficient); White students (21.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 23.4 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 84 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Absenteeism · Homeless+29.7pp
62.5% vs 32.8% overall · n=40
Suspension · Filipino+6.8pp
15.2% vs 8.4% overall · n=46
ELA · Disabilities−23.4pp
6.3% vs 29.6% overall · n=16
2 more gaps by subject
ELA Exceeded · Disabilities−7.4pp
0.0% vs 7.4% overall · n=16
Math · Disabilities−12.3pp
0.0% vs 12.3% overall · n=15
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income84 tested
ELA 27.4%·Math 8.4%· -19.8pp vs district
White69 tested
ELA 21.7%·Math 11.9%· -38.5pp vs district
Hispanic31 tested
ELA 41.9%·Math 6.5%· -6.4pp vs district
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$31K
$54K below CA median
Median Home Value
$221K
$438K below CA median
Bachelor's+
11%
24pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
9.1 years avg experience
54 teachers · 7% first-year · 22% second-year
Teacher Credentials
78% fully credentialed
5.4% on intern/emergency permit
AP Courses Offered
1 AP courses
CTE Pathway Completers
16 completed a career pathway
Sources: CDE SARC · CDE College/Career Indicator, 2024-25
Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
For the data nerds
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
87.4%
↓ vs CA 87.6% · 50th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
4.2%
↓ vs CA 15.5% · 38th pctile
College readiness · 20%
0.0%
↓ vs CA 35.5% · 29th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
20.9%
↓ vs CA 34.6% · 41th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
32.8%
↓ vs CA 32.1% · 49th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
8.4%
↓ vs CA 4.0% · 31th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 108 | 7% | 22% | 21% | 49% | 30% | −18 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 11 | 106 | 1% | 11% | 16% | 72% | 12% | −11 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 114 | 1% | 22% | 63% | 14% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 84 | 27.4% | −20 | −11 |
| White | 69 | 21.7% | −38 | −40 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 31 | 41.9% | −6 | +3 |
03Peer comparison · nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kern Valley High ← | — | 33 | 4.2% | 20.9% | — | 8.4% |
| California average | — | 47 | 15.5% | 34.6% | — | 4.0% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
87.4%
AP Exam Prepared
Not offered
This school may not offer AP courses
A-G Completion
15.3%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
23.9%
Scope Score history
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #1182 → #1285 → #1356 → #1269 → #1307
What we can't show
- — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 11 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=1,739 high schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Frequently asked questions
Is Kern Valley High a good high school?
Kern Valley High has a Scope Score of 33 out of 100, placing it in the 25th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,307 statewide. 4.2% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 11.3 percentage points below the California average of 15.5%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for high schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Kern Valley High's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 20.9% of students at Kern Valley High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 4.2% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 16.8% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 4.2% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 214 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Kern Valley High rank in California?
Kern Valley High ranks #1,307 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 25th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Kern Valley High?
32.8% of students at Kern Valley High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 32.1%. The suspension rate is 8.4%. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Kern Valley High compare to other schools in Lake Isabella?
Kern Valley High scores 33/100 (25th percentile) among California high schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 516 students. Use the schools in Lake Isabella page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.
How does Kern Valley High serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Kern Valley High in Lake Isabella, 27.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 47.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Kern Valley High trails its district average for low-income students by 19.8 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (8.4% Math proficient); White students (21.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 23.4 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 84 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.