County office of education · Kern County

Kern County Office of Education schools

Kern County Office of Education’s 6 public elementary schools have Scope Scores from 70 to 76. Its 3 middle schools have Scope Scores from 69 to 74. Its 3 high schools have Scope Scores from 77 to 82.

75 is the typical California school. 100 is the best result in the state.

Valley Oaks Charter · campus drawing © OpenStreetMap contributors

Schools

9

listed public schools. We score six elementary, three middle and three high.

Students

6,321

in the October 2024–25 enrollment count.

The path

What is the path through the county office?

Kern County Office of Education has six elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools that we score.

Elementary · 6 schools

Middle · 3 schools

High · 3 schools

Each score compares a school with California schools at its own level. The levels are not one ranking.

Elementary schools

Which elementary schools in Kern County Office of Education score highest?

Valley Oaks Charter is highest, with a Scope Score of 76. That is higher than 57 in 100 California elementary schools we score.

AdvancedProficientBelow the standardEnglish and math tests combined

  1. Rank 1

    Valley Oaks CharterCharter

    Bakersfield · Grades K–12 · 1,087 students · Check how it admits students.

    69% below the standard

    Scope Score 76Solid · 57th percentile

  2. Rank 2

    Grow Public SchoolsCharter

    Bakersfield · Grades Pre–K–8 · 1,446 students · Check how it admits students.

    59% below the standard

    Scope Score 76Solid · 53rd percentile

  3. Rank 3

    Wonderful College Prep AcademyCharter

    Delano · Grades K–12 · 1,845 students · Check how it admits students.

    61% below the standard

    Scope Score 74Developing · 42nd percentile

  4. Rank 4

    Central Academy of Arts and TechnologyCharter

    Bakersfield · Grades Pre–K–12 · 179 students · Check how it admits students.

    67% below the standard

    Scope Score 71Developing · 27th percentile

  5. Rank 5

    Ridgecrest Elementary Academy for Language, Music, and ScienceCharter

    Ridgecrest · Grades K–6 · Check how it admits students.

    75% below the standard

    Scope Score 71Developing · 26th percentile

  6. Rank 6

    Wonderful College Prep Academy - Lost HillsCharter

    Lost Hills · Grades K–12 · 535 students · Check how it admits students.

    70% below the standard

    Scope Score 70Needs Support · 21st percentile

The average elementary school in Kern County Office of Education had 13 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26. The average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100.

1 elementary school not ranked statewide

Students are placed here by an IEP team, not by address and not by lottery, so we don’t rank it.

Each score compares a school with the 5,726 California elementary schools we score. Source: California Department of Education, state tests (CAASPP), spring 2026. Chronically absent means a student missed 10% or more of school days. Each figure is an average of school rates. Each school counts once.

Middle schools

Which middle schools in Kern County Office of Education score highest?

Valley Oaks Charter is highest, with a Scope Score of 74. That is higher than 44 in 100 California middle schools we score.

AdvancedProficientBelow the standardEnglish and math tests combined

  1. Rank 1

    Valley Oaks CharterCharter

    Bakersfield · Grades K–12 · 1,087 students · Check how it admits students.

    69% below the standard

    Scope Score 74Developing · 44th percentile

  2. Rank 2

    Wonderful College Prep AcademyCharter

    Delano · Grades K–12 · 1,845 students · Check how it admits students.

    61% below the standard

    Scope Score 73Developing · 38th percentile

  3. Rank 3

    Wonderful College Prep Academy - Lost HillsCharter

    Lost Hills · Grades K–12 · 535 students · Check how it admits students.

    65% below the standard

    Scope Score 69Needs Support · 15th percentile

The average middle school in Kern County Office of Education had 9 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26. The average California middle school we score had 18 in 100.

Each score compares a school with the 2,529 California middle schools we score. Source: California Department of Education, state tests (CAASPP), spring 2026.

High schools

Which high schools in Kern County Office of Education score highest?

Wonderful College Prep Academy is highest, with a Scope Score of 82. That is higher than 79 in 100 California high schools we score.

AdvancedProficientBelow the standardEnglish and math tests combined

  1. Rank 1

    Wonderful College Prep AcademyCharter

    Delano · Grades K–12 · 1,845 students · Check how it admits students.

    46% below the standard

    Scope Score 82Strong · 79th percentile

  2. Rank 2

    Valley Oaks CharterCharter

    Bakersfield · Grades K–12 · 1,087 students · Check how it admits students.

    51% below the standard

    Scope Score 77Solid · 60th percentile

  3. Rank 3

    Wonderful College Prep Academy - Lost HillsCharter

    Lost Hills · Grades K–12 · 535 students · Check how it admits students.

    55% below the standard

    Scope Score 77Solid · 59th percentile

The average high school in Kern County Office of Education had 9 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26. The average California high school we score had 22 in 100.

2 high schools not ranked statewide

Court and community schools enroll students differently from a regular school, so we don’t rank them.

Each score compares a school with the 1,498 California high schools we score. Source: California Department of Education, state tests (CAASPP), spring 2025. The state called the top two levels Exceeded and Met in spring 2025.

Against California

How does the county office compare with California?

13 in 100 students at the average elementary school here were chronically absent. The California figure is 17 in 100.

Students who miss a lot of school

Average elementary school, students in 100

Kern County Office of Education13 in 100
California17 in 100

Students from low-income families

Qualify for free or reduced-price meals

Kern County Office of Education76%
California63%

English learners who moved up a level

On the state’s English test (ELPAC)

Kern County Office of Education41%
California47%

Absence: averages of school rates, each elementary school counted once, 2025–26. Meals: 4,789 of 6,321 students, 2024–25, summed from the state’s meal counts for every school listed under the county office, charters included. English learners: From spring 2025 to spring 2026, 41% of the county office’s English learners moved up at least one level on the state’s English test (ELPAC), or stayed at the top (38 of 93 students). California: 47%. It counts students moving up the test’s levels, so a student can count here before becoming fluent. Source: California Department of Education, English learner progress files.

The county office

What does Kern County Office of Education plan to spend on?

Every California district publishes a yearly plan, the LCAP: its goals and what it will spend to reach them. Search it for a program, grade or student group you care about.

Planned amounts are from the yearly spending plan (LCAP) as posted to the California School Dashboard.

State records

Who attends, and is the state giving extra help?

6,321 students were enrolled in the October 2024–25 count. The state is giving Kern County Office of Education extra help in 2026.

Who goes to the county office’s schools

  • Hispanic or Latino 77%
  • White 15%
  • Other or not reported 8%
October 2024–25 enrollment count, including the county office’s charter schools. Source: California Department of Education.

Is the state giving the county office extra help?

The state is giving Kern County Office of Education extra help in 2026. A student group had the Dashboard’s lowest results (red) on two or more measures three years in a row. It also qualified the year before.

Which students, on which measures

  • English learnersgraduation, suspensions and college and career readiness
  • Long-term English learnersgraduation and college and career readiness
  • Students with disabilitiesgraduation and suspensions
State results from the 2026 California School Dashboard. Source: District help (CDE).

2 schools getting state support, 2025–26

This list covers the county office’s own schools; each charter school’s page shows its record. Federal designation under the Every Student Succeeds Act, 2025–26. Source: School support (CDE).

Common questions

What do parents ask about this county office?

  • Are the public schools in Kern County Office of Education good?

    Kern County Office of Education’s 6 public elementary schools have Scope Scores from 70 to 76. Of those, 2 are Solid, 3 are Developing and 1 is Needs Support. Kern County Office of Education’s 3 public middle schools have Scope Scores from 69 to 74. Of those, 2 are Developing and 1 is Needs Support. Kern County Office of Education’s 3 public high schools have Scope Scores from 77 to 82. Of those, 1 is Strong and 2 are Solid. 75 is the typical California school. 100 is the best result in the state. How we score schools.

  • Which public schools in Kern County Office of Education rank highest?

    Valley Oaks Charter is the highest elementary school, with a Scope Score of 76. It is Solid, at the 57th percentile. Valley Oaks Charter is the highest middle school, with a Scope Score of 74. It is Developing, at the 44th percentile. Wonderful College Prep Academy is the highest high school, with a Scope Score of 82. It is Strong, at the 79th percentile. Each score compares a school with the California schools at the same level we score. A rank doesn’t decide fit or whether a child can enroll.

  • How does chronic absence in Kern County Office of Education compare with California?

    The average elementary school in Kern County Office of Education had 13 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26. The average California elementary school we score had 17 in 100. Chronically absent means a student missed 10% or more of school days. Each figure is an average of school rates. Each school counts once. The average middle school in Kern County Office of Education had 9 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26. The average California middle school we score had 18 in 100. The average high school in Kern County Office of Education had 9 in 100 students chronically absent in 2025–26. The average California high school we score had 22 in 100.

  • Where do these results come from?

    The test results are from California’s state tests (CAASPP). They are from spring 2026 for elementary and middle schools. The results are from spring 2025 for high schools. Chronic-absence rates are for 2025–26. The California Department of Education publishes both. Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s calculations. How we score schools.

Next

Which places nearby can you look at next?

Schools in Delano

Every public school with a Delano address.

Compare schools

See the same numbers for each school.

Open the map

See these schools on the map.

Cities its schools are in

Sources and methodology

This page lists the public schools the state directory lists under Kern County Office of Education, with its spending and state records.

Data source: California Department of Education · CAASPP 2025–26 elementary and middle school; 2024–25 high school

Percentiles, bands and Scope Scores are SchoolScope’s own calculations from these state files.

View CDE data ↗ (opens in a new tab)How Scope Scores work →

State tests are the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), springs 2025 and 2026.

Download these schools (CSV) Free to use under CC BY 4.0 with attribution.