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West High · BakersfieldPublic

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

West posts 33% meeting the standard and 9.2% exceeding it, against 36% and 15.8% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

1200 New Stine Road, 93309 (opens in new tab)·Kern High·Bakersfield·Grades 9-12·2,159 students·91% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(661) 832-2822·Website
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope4147
% Exceeded9%16%
% Met+33%36%
Grad rate81.0%86.6%
College readiness39.0%33.9%
Absence23.1%30.2%
Suspension8.0%3.6%
Scope Score
41
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #1,416 statewide · #15 of 25 in Kern High

West High scores 41 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 34th 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 “33% proficient” and call it done. West deserves a closer read. The school sits in Bakersfield, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

West's low-income kids hit 54.8% 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 34th percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELAYellow(Increased Significantly)MathRed(Declined)

The pandemic drop is behind this school: 33% of students meet the standard today, above the 29% who did in 2019.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1144%38%50%38%54%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 1113%11%10%14%13%

The story this school is actually telling

Proficient by 11th grade
33%
State 36%
Graduate
81%
State 87%
Pass an AP exam
39%
State 34%

Of 100 students here: 33 are proficient by 11th grade → 81 graduate → 39 pass an AP exam. The gaps between those bars are the questions to ask.

54.8%
Low-income · ELA · met standard

West's most underrated number

54.8% 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.

West low-income: 54.8%State low-income: 38.2%

The 7 things our score weighs

Graduation rate
81.0%
State 86.6%
5.6pp below state avg
Exceeded standard
9.2%
State 15.8%
6.6pp below state avg
College readiness
39.0%
State 33.9%
AP course or exam readiness above state avg
Met or exceeded
33.2%
State 35.7%
2.5pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
23.1%
State 30.2%
7.1pp below state avg
Suspension rate
8.0%
State 3.6%
4.3pp above state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
15.9%
State 18.0%
2.1pp 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 West High in Bakersfield, 54.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 47.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. West High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 7.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (11.9% Math proficient); Hispanic students (55.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 44.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 410 students tested.

All students at this school: 33% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 33%, district —, state 36%33%
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 33%, district 30%, state 32%33% · +0 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 35%, district 31%, state 32%35% · +1 vs school
MaleMale: this school 32%, district 32%, state 42%32% · −1 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 35%, district 37%, state 44%35% · +1 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 9%, district 8%, state 15%9% · −24 vs school
Black/African AmericanBlack/African American: this school 21%, district 24%, state 26%21% · −12 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 34%, district 44%, state 56%34% · +1 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 9%, district 5%, state 11%9% · −24 vs school

7 of 16 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
Hispanic73.5% AP · 72.3% enroll.
American Indian/Alaska Native0.0% AP · 0.3% enroll.
Asian5.4% AP · 2.3% enroll.
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander0.0% AP · 0.3% enroll.
Black9.2% AP · 13.9% enroll.
White9.7% AP · 9.8% enroll.
Two or more races2.2% AP · 1.0% enroll.
English learners1.1% AP · 8.1% enroll.
Students with disabilities1.1% AP · 15.2% 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 23.1%, district 18.7%, state 30.2%23.1% · −7.1pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 8.0%, district —, state 3.6%8.0% · +4.3pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 9–1222.8%

Where graduates go

Context — never part of the Scope Score
53%
College-going rate, class of 2023

Where they went after graduation

Of West's class of 2023, 53% 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: 404 completers, 53% enrolled somewhere within a year

University of California 11 (3%)California State University 53 (13%)California community college 141 (35%)In-state private 6 (1%)Out-of-state, 4-year 1 (0%)Out-of-state, 2-year 0 (0%)Not enrolled 192 (48%)

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, 8 of West's 357 graduates enrolled in the University of California system.

Applied53fall 2025, universitywide
Admitted36
Enrolled8
Where they landed (fall 2025)

9 of 9 campuses are masked below UC's privacy floor — a protection, not a verdict.

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

UC enrollees, universitywide, 2014–2025

Peak: 16 enrolled, 2018

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, 53% of this class's predecessors enrolled in college somewhere within a year. More of the class of 2023 enrolled at community colleges (141) than at UC (11).

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 28:1, district 25:128:1
Teaching staff186 teachers
Avg. experience11.0 years
Fully credentialed88%
First-year teachers5%
Intern / emergency permit0.5%
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 qualifiers67 studentsCCI, participation not authorization
CTE pathway completers74 students
Advanced Coursework

West's teachers are authorized to teach 10 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers — including Calculus BC, Calculus AB, and Environmental Science.

AP subjects taught10
Math & Computer Science (2)Calculus AB · Calculus BC
Sciences (1)Environmental Science
English (2)English Language and Composition · English Literature and Composition
History & Social Science (3)Macroeconomics · U.S. Government and Politics · United States History
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: $19,026, CA average $14,491$19,026 · spent at this school
Federal share$1,141 per student

$1,141 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
Hispanic75.4%
District 71.9% · CA 56.1%
Black10.3%
District 5.0% · CA 4.8%
White6.8%
District 14.2% · CA 19.9%
Other6.4%
District 6.3% · CA 9.0%
Asian1.1%
District 2.5% · CA 10.2%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 91.1% (27pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$64K · CA $85K
Median home value$320K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+20% · CA 35%
ZIP population63,217
Median age32 years

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

Worth Knowing

On the state's science test (CAST), 18% 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 West High a good high school?

West High has a Scope Score of 41 out of 100, placing it in the 34th percentile of California high schools and ranked #1,416 statewide. 9.2% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 6.6 percentage points below 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 West High's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 33.2% of students at West High met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 9.2% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 24.0% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 9.2% 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. 889 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does West High rank in California?

West High ranks #1,416 among California high schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 34th 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 West High?

23.1% of students at West 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 8.0%. 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 West High compare to other schools in Bakersfield?

West High scores 41/100 (34th 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 2,159 students. Use the schools in Bakersfield page or the map view to compare all high schools nearby.

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

At West High in Bakersfield, 54.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 47.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. West High outperforms its district average for low-income students by 7.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (11.9% Math proficient); Hispanic students (55.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 44.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 410 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 West High?

West High's teachers are authorized to teach 10 of the 40 AP subjects the College Board offers, per the 2025 - 2026 AP Course Audit: Calculus AB, Calculus BC, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Environmental Science, Macroeconomics, Spanish Language and Culture, Spanish Literature and Culture, U.S. Government and Politics, United States History. 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 West High go to UC?

In fall 2025, 8 West 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%
81.0%
↓ vs CA 86.6% · 44th pctile
Exceeded standard · 22%
9.2%
↓ vs CA 15.8% · 42th pctile
College readiness · 20%
39.0%
↑ vs CA 33.9% · 53th pctile
Met or exceeded · 18%
33.2%
↓ vs CA 35.7% · 48th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
23.1%
↑ vs CA 30.2% · 56th pctile
▲ 1.8pp higher vs 2024
Suspension rate · 5%
8.0%
↓ vs CA 3.6% · 30th pctile
▼ 3.5pp lower vs 2024
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
15.9%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 49th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 1144617%37%25%22%54%+5
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 114432%11%18%69%13%−11

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
Schoolwide4902%17%67%14%

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 Disadvantaged41054.8%+8+17
Hispanic/Latino34355.9%+8+17
Students with Disabilities6114.6%+2−2
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
West High ←—419.2%33.2%——8.0%
Bakersfield High2.8 mi398.8%29.7%——9.7%
Kern Workforce 2000 Academy0.3 mi210.2%4.7%——4.7%
Vista West Continuation High2.9 mi211.8%7.7%——15.0%
California average—4715.8%35.7%——3.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Graduation Rate
81.0%
AP Exam Prepared
39.0%
A-G Completion
38.9%
A-G are the 15 courses (across 7 subjects) required for UC/CSU eligibility
College-Going Rate
52.5%
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrade gap
20193934#134210.0%28.7%20.9%14.0%—
20223730#14617.0%24.9%43.0%10.4%—
20234034#14238.2%30.3%28.1%10.9%—
20243932#14479.2%26.3%21.3%11.4%—
20254134#14169.2%33.2%23.1%8.0%—
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
Female21.7%22.7%+1.0pp
Male19.8%22.9%+3.1pp
Asian2.4%30.4%+28.0pp
Black/African American29.8%28.1%-1.7pp
Filipino30.8%28.7%-2.1pp
White16.7%——
Hispanic/Latino18.0%21.3%+3.3pp
American Indian/Alaska Native30.0%28.6%-1.4pp
Two or More Races26.9%35.7%+8.8pp
Students with Disabilities26.0%24.6%-1.4pp
English Learners12.8%29.0%+16.2pp
Foster Youth32.3%37.1%+4.8pp
Homeless41.0%48.7%+7.7pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged21.4%23.4%+2.0pp
All Students20.7%22.8%+2.1pp
Military-Connected—23.8%—
06UC admissions, universitywide2014–2025 · summed across CEEB codes at query time
YearAppliedAdmittedEnrolledGPA (applied)GPA (admitted)GPA (enrolled)
2025533683.673.884.15
20243330123.683.733.92
20235233113.683.834.00
20224733143.934.044.04
20215639133.563.743.91
20203730123.783.813.85
20195331103.673.863.92
20185431163.603.833.87
201722943.563.89—
20163829163.833.994.05
2015241683.653.813.74
20142415113.683.934.00

‹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
Berkeley2025224‹3
Berkeley202410‹3‹3
Berkeley20232564
Berkeley202229‹3‹3
Berkeley202118‹3‹3
Davis2025237‹3
Davis202417103
Davis2023177‹3
Davis2022166‹3
Davis2021286‹3
Irvine20253310‹3
Irvine20241943
Irvine202328‹3‹3
Irvine2022275‹3
Irvine202128‹3‹3
Los Angeles2025313‹3
Los Angeles202418‹3‹3
Los Angeles202338‹3‹3
Los Angeles2022333‹3
Los Angeles202130‹3‹3
Merced20252519‹3
Merced20241515‹3
Merced20231414‹3
Merced20221613‹3
Merced202126243
Riverside20251812‹3
Riverside20241110‹3
Riverside202383‹3
Riverside2022119‹3
Riverside2021126‹3
San Diego2025197‹3
San Diego2024135‹3
San Diego20232693
San Diego202216129
San Diego2021258‹3
Santa Barbara20252112‹3
Santa Barbara20241693
Santa Barbara20232812‹3
Santa Barbara20222311‹3
Santa Barbara202127143
Santa Cruz2025147‹3
Santa Cruz2024115‹3
Santa Cruz2023104‹3
Santa Cruz20221510‹3
Santa Cruz2021126‹3
Universitywide202553368
Universitywide2024333012
Universitywide2023523311
Universitywide2022473314
Universitywide2021563913

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
English Language and Compositionthis school
English Literature and Compositionthis school
Environmental Sciencethis school
Macroeconomicsthis school
Spanish Language and Culturethis school
Spanish Literature and Culturethis school
U.S. Government and Politicsthis school
United States Historythis 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 count6
AP enrollment185
IB participationnot offered
Dual enrollmentoffered · 300 enrolled
Algebra I in grade 8not reported
Calculus sections1
Physics sections5
Chemistry sections6
Total enrollment (CRDC)2,086

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 California112.7%
California State University5313.1%
California community college14134.9%
In-state private61.5%
Out-of-state, 4-year10.3%
Out-of-state, 2-year00.0%
Not enrolled19247.5%

404 completers, class of 2023 · state-reported college-going rate 53% · % 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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