How does Paul L. Cato Middle compare to other middle schools in Bakersfield?

Paul L. Cato Middle has a Scope Score of 55.0/100, ranked #730 among California middle schools. 17% of students exceed standard, with a total of 1,350 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Paul L. Cato Middle?

16.6% of students at Paul L. Cato Middle exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 41.8% meet or exceed it. The gap between these two numbers reveals whether the school pushes students beyond basic proficiency.

Is Paul L. Cato Middle improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Paul L. Cato Middle's proficiency rate decreases by 7.2 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This pattern in test scores may reflect a variety of factors beyond the school itself.

What is the chronic absenteeism rate at Paul L. Cato Middle?

11.1% of students at Paul L. Cato Middle 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.

Paul L. Cato Middle

Middle School

Bakersfield City BakersfieldKern County93306

📍 4115 Vineland Road

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

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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

654 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

24:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

68%

Teachers

27 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Declined

-3.4 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Declined

-4.3 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

36.0%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 50 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic70.5%

White21.4%

Asian1.7%

Black2.1%

Other4.3%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Paul L. Cato Middle
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	16.6%
Met Standard	25.2%
Below Standard	58.2%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Met or exceeded: 41.8%

2.2pp above state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 11.1%

8.2pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Baseline proficiency: 41.8%

Above state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% weight

✓Suspension rate: 1.9%

2.2pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 16.6%

0.7pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Growth (G6→G8): -7.2pp

Scores decline across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% 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 middle school Scope Score is weighted across 6 dimensions. See full methodology →

What other rankings don't show you

Most rating sites report "42% proficient" for Paul L. Cato Middle and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

16.6% of students exceeded standard while 25.2% met it. That exceeded rate is near the state average of 17.3%. That's 9.1 points above the Bakersfield City district average of 7.5%. Compared to the 1 nearby schools within ~3 miles, this exceeded rate is 13.3 points higher (vs 3.3% average). The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Proficiency drops by 7.2 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth — a signal that the school may not be sustaining early gains.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance declined and Math declined year-over-year. 36.0% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 11.1%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

Why the exceeded vs. met split matters →

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

16.6%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

41.8%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

-7.2pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

11.1%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

1.9%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

1,350

Across all grades & subjects

Grade trajectory

How proficiency compares across grade levels this year (different students, same test year)

ELA Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

Math Trajectory

G6 → G7 → G8

ELA scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	151	17.9%	35.1%	15.9%	31.1%	53.0%
7th	253	17.4%	29.3%	27.3%	26.1%	46.6%
8th	268	17.2%	32.1%	29.5%	21.3%	49.3%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
6th	151	19.2%	20.5%	24.5%	35.8%	39.7%
7th	256	14.8%	18.0%	26.2%	41.0%	32.8%
8th	271	12.9%	16.2%	31.0%	39.9%	29.1%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Cesar E. Chavez Elementary

62.5# in state

Dr. Douglas K. Fletcher Elemen…

58.0# in state

Horace Mann Elementary

46.5# in state

Also serves area

Dr. Juliet Thorner Elementary

36.4# in state

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Middle

Paul L. Cato Middle

55.0# in state

This school

▼

High School

No feeder data available for this level

Feeder patterns derived from 2015-16 NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries may have changed. Contact your school district for current information.