How does Sunset compare to other middle schools in Bakersfield?

Sunset has a Scope Score of 39.4/100, ranked #1128 among California middle schools. 4% of students exceed standard, with a total of 475 students tested across grades and subjects.

What percentage of students exceed standards at Sunset?

3.7% of students at Sunset exceed the state standard on CAASPP assessments, while 22.4% 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 Sunset?

14.2% of students at Sunset 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.

Sunset

Q: Is Sunset improving or declining?

Based on CAASPP data, Sunset's proficiency rate increases by 10.4 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth. This suggests the school may be adding value over time.

Middle School

Vineland Elementary BakersfieldKern County93307

📍 8301 Sunset Boulevard

Scope Score

out of 100

State Rank

of 1,714 California middle schools

📈

On the Rise

On an upward trajectory — scores are improving faster than average. Worth a closer look.

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

311 students

Student-Teacher Ratio

18:1

Free/Reduced Lunch

100%

Teachers

17 full-time

Dashboard indicators

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

ELA Year-over-Year

Increased

+3.9 pts DFS change

Math Year-over-Year

Maintained

+0.7 pts DFS change

EL Proficiency (ELPAC)

17.1%

English learners at Level 4 (Well Developed) · 147 tested

Data source: California School Dashboard 2025, ELPAC 2024

Student demographics

Hispanic98.4%

White1.6%

Performance breakdown

Performance breakdown for Sunset
Category	Percentage
Exceeded Standard	3.7%
Met Standard	18.7%
Below Standard	77.7%

Score Factors

Helping

✓Growth (G6→G8): +10.4pp

Scores improve across grades (state avg +0.8pp)

15% weight

✓Chronic absenteeism: 14.2%

5.1pp below state avg (state avg 19.3%)

15% weight

✓Suspension rate: 0.9%

3.2pp below state avg (state avg 4.1%)

10% weight

Holding Back

▼Exceeded standard: 3.7%

13.6pp below state avg (state avg 17.3%)

30% weight

▼Met or exceeded: 22.4%

17.2pp below state avg (state avg 39.5%)

20% weight

▼Baseline proficiency: 22.4%

Below state baseline (state avg 39.5%)

10% 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 "22% proficient" for Sunset and stop there. Here's what that number hides:

3.7% of students exceeded standard while 18.7% met it. That exceeded rate is 13.6 points below the state average of 17.3%. The gap between "met" and "exceeded" can reveal how much a school's curriculum challenges students beyond proficiency.

Students here improve by 10.4 percentage points from Grade 6 to grade 8 growth, suggesting the school is adding value beyond what students arrive with.

California's Dashboard shows ELA performance increased and Math maintained year-over-year. 17.1% of English learners reached Level 4 (Well Developed) on ELPAC.

Chronic absenteeism is 14.2%, better than the state average of 19.3%.

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

Key metrics

% Exceeded Standard

3.7%

Students scoring above proficient

% Met or Above

22.4%

Students meeting standard

Growth (G6→G8)

+10.4pp

Change in proficiency rate

Chronic Absenteeism

14.2%

Students missing 10%+ of days

Suspension Rate

0.9%

Students suspended at least once

Total Tested

475

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
5th	67	1.5%	14.9%	22.4%	61.2%	16.4%
6th	68	2.9%	16.2%	41.2%	39.7%	19.1%
7th	99	6.1%	35.4%	25.3%	33.3%	41.4%
8th	70	4.3%	31.4%	25.7%	38.6%	35.7%

Math scores by grade

Grade	Tested	Exceeded	Met	Nearly Met	Not Met	Met+Above
5th	68	1.5%	1.5%	25.0%	72.1%	2.9%
6th	69	2.9%	4.3%	29.0%	63.8%	7.3%
7th	99	3.0%	16.2%	20.2%	60.6%	19.2%
8th	70	2.9%	8.6%	22.9%	65.7%	11.4%

K-12 Feeder PathBoundary data

Elementary

Vineland Elementary

No score# in state

▼

Middle

Sunset

39.4# 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.