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South High · BakersfieldPublic

South High: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

South posts 35% meeting the standard and 14.3% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

1101 Planz Road, 93304 (opens in new tab)·Kern High·Bakersfield·Grades 9-12·2,107 students·97% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(661) 831-3680·Website
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope4647
% Exceeded14%16%
% Met+35%36%
Grad rate90.0%86.6%
College readiness38.2%33.9%
Absence17.2%30.2%
Suspension9.8%3.6%
Scope Score
46
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,218 statewide · #9 of 25 in Kern High

South High scores 46 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 44th percentile of 2,160 California high schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →

🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.

CDE CAASPP 2025

Most rating sites would stop at “35% proficient” and call it done. South deserves a closer read. The school sits in Bakersfield, where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

South's low-income kids hit 53.6% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 2,160 high schools statewide

Has stayed near the 44th percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELAYellow(Maintained)MathYellow(Increased)

The pandemic drop is behind this school: 35% of students meet the standard today, above the 30% who did in 2019.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1141%43%57%61%54%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1119%11%17%14%17%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
35%
State 36%
Graduate
90%
State 87%
Pass an AP exam
38%
State 34%

Of 100 students here: 35 are proficient by 11th grade → 90 graduate → 38 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

53.6%
Low-income · ELA · met standard

South's most underrated number

53.6% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.

South low-income: 53.6%State low-income: 38.2%South EL: 10.0%State EL: 10.4%

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
90.0%
State 86.6%
3.4pp above state avg
Exceeded standard
14.3%
State 15.8%
1.5pp below state avg
College readiness
38.2%
State 33.9%
AP course or exam readiness above state avg
Met or exceeded
35.1%
State 35.7%
0.6pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
17.2%
State 30.2%
13.0pp below state avg
Suspension rate
9.8%
State 3.6%
6.2pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
10.4%
State 18.0%
7.6pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.

  • Ask what typically leads to a suspension, and what happens before it gets there.
  • Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
  • Ask what share of students complete the full college-prep course sequence, and who gets steered into it.
  • Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
  • Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
  • Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.

How every group of students does here

At South High in Bakersfield, 53.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 47.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. South High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 6.4 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (16.7% Math proficient); Hispanic students (56.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 43.6 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 461 students tested.

All students at this school: 35% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 35%, district —, state 36%35%
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 35%, district 30%, state 32%35% · −0 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 37%, district 31%, state 32%37% · +2 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 35%, district 37%, state 44%35% · −0 vs school
MaleMale: this school 35%, district 32%, state 42%35% · +0 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 6%, district 5%, state 11%6% · −29 vs school
Black/African AmericanBlack/African American: this school 14%, district 24%, state 26%14% · −21 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 8%, district 8%, state 15%8% · −27 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 36%, district 44%, state 56%36% · +1 vs school

5 of 14 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
AP access · 2020-21 federal civil rights snapshot (structural, dated — newest published; biennial)
Shown, never scored
Hispanic93.7% AP · 84.2% enroll.
American Indian/Alaska Native0.0% AP · 0.2% enroll.
Asian2.1% AP · 1.6% enroll.
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander0.3% AP · 0.1% enroll.
Black2.7% AP · 9.0% enroll.
White1.2% AP · 4.2% enroll.
Two or more races0.0% AP · 0.7% enroll.
English learners1.5% AP · 9.9% enroll.
Students with disabilities0.0% AP · 12.1% enroll.

● share of AP enrollment vs share of total enrollment, this school only · not part of the Scope Score

Data source: U.S. Dept. of Education Office for Civil Rights, Civil Rights Data Collection, 2020-21 (biennial; newest published)

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 17.2%, district 18.7%, state 30.2%17.2% · −13.0pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 9.8%, district —, state 3.6%9.8% · +6.2pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1216.7%

Where graduates go

Context — never part of the Scope Score
51%
College-going rate, class of 2023

Where they went after graduation

Of South's class of 2023, 51% enrolled in college somewhere within a year — a CSU, a community college, a UC, or out of state.

College destination mix, class of 2023

Class of 2023: 510 completers, 51% enrolled somewhere within a year

University of California 21 (4%)California State University 57 (11%)California community college 151 (30%)In-state private 22 (4%)Out-of-state, 4-year 8 (2%)Out-of-state, 2-year 1 (0%)Not enrolled 250 (49%)

Percentages are computed by SchoolScope (count ÷ completers) from CDE-reported counts, not a CDE-native rate.

Data source: California Department of Education, 2023 cohort — the newest published; National Student Clearinghouse match.

UC application funnel — one destination of six, tracked in detail because UC is the only source with 30 years of history

In fall 2025, 22 of South's 407 graduates enrolled in the University of California system — Merced the most common landing, with 4 enrollees.

Applied102fall 2025, universitywide
Admitted91
Enrolled22
Where they landed (fall 2025)
Merced 4Riverside 4Berkeley 3Irvine 3San Diego 3Santa Barbara 3Davis ‹3Los Angeles ‹3Santa Cruz ‹3

campuses never sum to the universitywide figure — students apply to several

UC enrollees, universitywide, 2014–2025

Peak: 34 enrolled, 2017

UC publishes this trend back to 1994 — no other destination has a comparable multi-year record

UC is one road of many — the full destination mix for the class of 2023 is below. And who applied isn't who the school taught: the ratio between the two reflects the self-selected pool of students who chose to apply, not what happened in the classroom. By the state's 2023 count, 51% of this class's predecessors enrolled in college somewhere within a year. More of the class of 2023 enrolled at community colleges (151) than at UC (21).

Data source: University of California Office of the President (UC Information Center), fall 2025 admissions cycle · college-going rate: California Department of Education, 2023 cohort.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 25:1, district 25:125:1
Teaching staff183 teachers
Avg. experience11.8 years
Fully credentialed79%
First-year teachers3%
Intern / emergency permit2.8%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$62,889 – $134,832
Principal salaryUp to $173,913
Superintendent salary$255,200

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Course Breadth
AP exam qualifiers89 studentsCCI, participation not authorization
CTE pathway completers73 students
Advanced Coursework

South's teachers are authorized to teach 5 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers — including Calculus BC, Calculus AB, and Statistics.

AP subjects taught5
Math & Computer Science (3)Calculus AB · Calculus BC · Statistics
World Languages & Cultures (2)Spanish Language and Culture · Spanish Literature and Culture

Data source: College Board AP Course Audit, 2025 - 2026 audit year (authorization, not enrollment) · IB World Schools directory, name-matched · structural depth: 2020-21 federal snapshot, table 09

What gets spent here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $19,186, CA average $14,491$19,186 · spent at this school
Federal share$1,362 per student

$1,362 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$20,278 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction48%
Instruction support16%
Student services15%
Administration6%
Buildings & maintenance13%
Other2%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$13,940 per pupil
2019$13,737 per pupil
2018$14,008 per pupil
2017$12,847 per pupil
2016$12,132 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Hispanic84.0%
District 71.9% · CA 56.1%
Black8.0%
District 5.0% · CA 4.8%
White4.1%
District 14.2% · CA 19.9%
Other3.2%
District 6.3% · CA 9.0%
Asian0.7%
District 2.5% · CA 10.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 96.8% (33pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$51K · CA $85K
Median home value$241K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+11% · CA 35%
ZIP population51,037
Median age30 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Worth Knowing

On the state's science test (CAST), 24% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, and it never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is South High a good high school?

South High has a Scope Score of 46 out of 100, placing it in the 44th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,218 statewide. 14.3% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is near the California average of 15.8%. The Scope Score weights 7 dimensions for high schools: graduation rate (25%), exceeded standard (22%), college/career readiness (20%), met or exceeded (proficient) (18%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.

What are South High's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 35.1% of students at South High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 14.3% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 20.8% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 14.3% 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. 956 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does South High rank in California?

South High ranks #1,218 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 44th 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 South High?

17.2% of students at South High are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 30.2%. The suspension rate is 9.8%. 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 South High compare to other schools in Bakersfield?

South High scores 46/100 (44th 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 2,107 students. Use the schools in Bakersfield page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

How does South High serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At South High in Bakersfield, 53.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 47.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. South High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 6.4 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (16.7% Math proficient); Hispanic students (56.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 43.6 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 461 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.

What AP courses are offered at South High?

South High's teachers are authorized to teach 5 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers, per the 2025 - 2026 AP Course Audit: Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish Literature and Culture, Statistics. Authorization means the school may teach a course, not that a section is running this year, and it's separate from AP exam pass rates. Data source: College Board AP Course Audit, analyzed by SchoolScope.

How many students from South High go to UC?

In fall 2025, 22 South High graduates enrolled at University of California campuses, universitywide. That figure can't be split into a per-campus sum — students apply to several UC campuses at once, so campus-level counts don't add up to the universitywide total. UC is one destination among many: this says nothing about graduates who chose a CSU, a private college, a community college, or work, and it is a count, not a rate or a ranking. Data source: University of California Office of the President (UC Information Center), fall 2025 admissions cycle.

Your other options

All schools in Bakersfield →

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.

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

For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and nearest schools.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Graduation rate · 25%
90.0%
↑ vs CA 86.6% · 54th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
14.3%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 48th pctile
College readiness · 20%
38.2%
↑ vs CA 33.9% · 52th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
35.1%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 49th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
17.2%
↑ vs CA 30.2% · 61th pctile
▲ 0.5pp higher vs 2024
Suspension rate · 5%
9.8%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 22th pctile
▲ 1.3pp higher vs 2024
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
10.4%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 40th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1147823%30%24%23%54%+5
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 114785%12%18%65%17%−7

We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, no valid result was published, or the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.

Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Schoolwide4082%22%71%5%

CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged46153.6%+6+15
Hispanic/Latino41656.0%+8+17
English Learners6010.0%+3−0
03Nearest high schoolssorted by Scope Score · Grade gap = grade 3 vs grade 5, this year, different students; Cohort growth = the same students tracked across grades, in scale-score points — that's the measurement the Scope Score weights
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+Grade gapCohort growthSusp
South High ←—4614.3%35.1%——9.8%
Del Oro High2.6 mi446.6%22.9%——7.0%
Vista Continuation High2.3 mi210.0%7.0%——7.5%
Tierra Del Sol Continuation High2.3 mi190.4%2.8%——8.0%
California average—4715.8%35.7%——3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
90.0%
AP Exam Prepared
38.2%
A-G Completion
39.8%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
51.0%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrade gap
20194441#12148.0%29.9%13.6%10.9%—
20224443#11879.8%26.9%29.3%7.1%—
20234851#106113.4%36.9%21.4%8.2%—
20244750#107111.9%37.5%16.6%8.5%—
20254644#121814.3%35.1%17.2%9.8%—
Grade gap = this year's grade 3 vs grade 5 result, two different sets of students, not a trend for any one child — it is not the measurement the Scope Score's growth dimension uses. See §01 above and /methodology#verdicts for the school's actual scored (cohort) growth.
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female13.3%16.8%+3.5pp
Male13.1%16.7%+3.6pp
Asian7.5%6.3%-1.2pp
Black/African American16.9%24.2%+7.3pp
White0.0%——
Hispanic/Latino12.4%15.7%+3.3pp
Two or More Races20.0%——
Students with Disabilities20.4%22.6%+2.2pp
English Learners12.3%18.6%+6.3pp
Foster Youth24.3%31.4%+7.1pp
Homeless51.9%50.8%-1.1pp
Military-Connected2.3%5.3%+3.0pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged12.9%16.8%+3.9pp
All Students13.2%16.7%+3.5pp
Filipino—21.6%—
06UC admissions, universitywide2014–2025 · summed across CEEB codes at query time
YearAppliedAdmittedEnrolledGPA (applied)GPA (admitted)GPA (enrolled)
202510291223.693.733.90
202411187223.723.833.99
20238261213.703.854.07
20226456193.974.024.08
20217855153.673.803.87
20207660283.753.874.02
20196748233.673.793.88
20186043243.623.763.94
20178559343.563.703.76
20164934213.493.653.70
20155526153.503.843.85
20145734213.623.863.93

‹n = UC masks counts below n · a missing year means zero or masked — never assume zero · GPA cells blank for years with more than one contributing CEEB code (a summed GPA would be fabricated math) · GPAs live here and nowhere else on this page · Applied/Admitted/Enrolled reflect who applied, not what the school taught — no admit rate is computed or implied by this table. Series shown from 2014; full record to 1994 at the UC Infocenter.

07UC admissions by campuslatest falls on file
CampusYearAppliedAdmittedEnrolled
Berkeley20253663
Berkeley20243473
Berkeley20233574
Berkeley20223433
Berkeley2021253‹3
Davis20254113‹3
Davis20244023‹3
Davis2023257‹3
Davis202223166
Davis2021289‹3
Irvine20254493
Irvine2024699‹3
Irvine20233763
Irvine2022373‹3
Irvine202132‹3‹3
Los Angeles202562‹3‹3
Los Angeles20245354
Los Angeles2023464‹3
Los Angeles202231‹3‹3
Los Angeles2021523‹3
Merced202571674
Merced20243837‹3
Merced20232420‹3
Merced20222928‹3
Merced202133294
Riverside202563524
Riverside20243521‹3
Riverside202330165
Riverside2022149‹3
Riverside20212619‹3
San Diego202539103
San Diego202468233
San Diego20232713‹3
San Diego20222715‹3
San Diego2021214‹3
Santa Barbara202560163
Santa Barbara202450206
Santa Barbara202348163
Santa Barbara202235184
Santa Barbara20215415‹3
Santa Cruz20253519‹3
Santa Cruz20244228‹3
Santa Cruz20233317‹3
Santa Cruz20221914‹3
Santa Cruz20213517‹3
Universitywide20251029122
Universitywide20241118722
Universitywide2023826121
Universitywide2022645619
Universitywide2021785515

Σ campuses ≠ universitywide — students apply to several campuses; the Universitywide row (muted) is its own independent count, never a sum of the rows above it.

08AP course catalog2025 - 2026
SubjectTaught by
Calculus ABthis school
Calculus BCthis school
Spanish Language and Culturethis school
Spanish Literature and Culturethis school
Statisticsthis school

Authorization ≠ a section running this year — the Ledger records what the school may teach, not seat counts.

09Advanced coursework — 2020-21 federal civil-rights snapshotstructural, dated — newest published; biennial
MeasureThis school
AP offeredoffered
AP course count7
AP enrollment335
IB participationnot offered
Dual enrollmentoffered · 289 enrolled
Algebra I in grade 8not reported
Calculus sections3
Physics sections5
Chemistry sections11
Total enrollment (CRDC)2,405

Shown, never scored — no entry to any composite. NULL/reserve codes render "not reported," never a fabricated zero. The equity block above this table (§4) is the per-subgroup view of this same collection.

10College destinationsclass of 2023 · CDE 12-mo College-Going Rate
DestinationCompleters% (derived)
University of California214.1%
California State University5711.2%
California community college15129.6%
In-state private224.3%
Out-of-state, 4-year81.6%
Out-of-state, 2-year10.2%
Not enrolled25049.0%

510 completers, class of 2023 · state-reported college-going rate 51% · % column is computed by SchoolScope (count ÷ completers), not a CDE-native rate · a missing cell is CDE suppression, never a fabricated zero · source: CDE 12-mo CGR, 2023 cohort (the newest published), National Student Clearinghouse match — a different, older vintage than the fall 2025 UC admissions rows in tables 06-07 above.

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EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=2,160 high schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · UC Infocenter (annual refresh, summer) — ‹5/‹3 = masked, never summed across campuses · AP Course Ledger 2025 - 2026 (November refresh; authorization not enrollment) · CRDC 2020-21 (biennial; next expected 2021-22) · CDE 12-mo CGR 2023 cohort, National Student Clearinghouse match · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction

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