Is Kern Avenue Elementary a good school?

Kern Avenue Elementary ranks in the bottom 18.8% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Kern Avenue Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 706 students attended Kern Avenue Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Kern Avenue Elementary?

Students at Kern Avenue Elementary are 97% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Kern Avenue Elementary attend?

Students who attend Kern Avenue Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : McFarland Junior High High : McFarland High School Early College

Kern Avenue Elementary

Summary:

Kern Avenue Elementary is a public elementary school in McFarland, California, serving 711 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the McFarland Unified School District, which is ranked 1254 out of 1568 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Kern Avenue Elementary faces several key challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, low academic performance, and struggles to support certain student subgroups. The school's chronic absenteeism rate has risen from 10.2% in 2017-2018 to 13.5% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than nearby Browning Road STEAM Academy (13.1%) and Horizon Elementary (9.9%). Academically, Kern Avenue Elementary consistently underperforms the district and state in Smarter Balanced Assessments, with only 25.91% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and 20.98% in Mathematics in 2023-2024.

While Kern Avenue Elementary and other McFarland Unified schools struggle, some nearby Delano Union Elementary schools, such as Harvest Elementary and Nueva Vista Language Academy, perform significantly better on various metrics, including test scores and student group performance. The high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch at Kern Avenue Elementary (90.3%) suggests the school faces significant socioeconomic challenges that may impact student learning and achievement.

Detail:

Public K-6

356 West Kern Ave.
Mc Farland, CA 93250-1351

(661) 792-3033

District: McFarland Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4758^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $55,377

Students who attend Kern Avenue Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	McFarland Junior High
High:	McFarland High School Early College

Student/teacher ratio: 22.0

Number of students: 706

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

96.6%

White:

1.0%

Two or more races:

1.0%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 92.1%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Kern Avenue Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Kern Avenue Elementary ranks worse than 81.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 2^nd among 3 ranked elementary schools in the McFarland Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 21.1. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Kern Avenue Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the McFarland Unified School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (96.6%), two or more races (1%), White (1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 92.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Kern Avenue Elementary is 22. 1 elementary schools in the McFarland Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Kern Avenue Elementary employs 32 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Kern Avenue Elementary is $55,377, which is the highest among 3 elementary schools in the McFarland Unified School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Kern Avenue Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Kern Avenue Elementary 4758^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Kern Avenue Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

McFarland Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks McFarland Unified 1254^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Kern Avenue Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	8.57	4734^th	4809	1.6%
2005	17.76	4122^nd	4822	14.5%
2006	17.75	4150^th	4818	13.9%
2007	22.58	4087^th	5113	20.1%
2008	17.11	4525^th	5113	11.5%
2009	11.45	4937^th	5193	4.9%
2010	17.51	4743^rd	5314	10.7%
2011	29.40	4035^th	5377	25.0%
2012	28.35	4056^th	5390	24.7%
2013	19.39	4779^th	5530	13.6%
2015	20.61	4563^rd	5611	18.7%
2016	24.16	4246^th	5614	24.4%
2017	14.65	5142^nd	5692	9.7%
2018	18.99	4762^nd	5662	15.9%
2019	19.76	4824^th	5789	16.7%
2021	20.82	1140^th	1417	19.5%
2022	21.94	4652^nd	5883	20.9%
2023	25.13	4357^th	5874	25.8%
2024	21.10	4758^th	5862	18.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	35.00	2060^th	3246	36.5%
2019	43.85	1559^th	3275	52.4%
2021	39.17	321^st	602	46.7%
2022	35.26	2179^th	3311	34.2%
2023	46.40	1388^th	3250	57.3%
2024	39.27	1873^rd	3160	40.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	41.49	1260^th	2634	52.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	27.41	3966^th	5084	22.0%
2019	26.69	4113^th	5173	20.5%
2021	33.53	758^th	1110	31.7%
2022	29.73	3862^nd	5264	26.6%
2023	33.15	3643^rd	5374	32.2%
2024	25.39	4342^nd	5511	21.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	43.93	178^th	336	47.0%
2024	37.96	235^th	364	35.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	18.50	4655^th	5413	14.0%
2019	22.27	4444^th	5492	19.1%
2021	20.86	1032^nd	1267	18.5%
2022	21.98	4507^th	5635	20.0%
2023	22.30	4500^th	5617	19.9%
2024	17.84	4892^nd	5605	12.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	39.63	1312^th	2585	49.2%
2022	14.11	2227^th	2227	0.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	22.20	4369^th	5431	19.6%
2019	18.10	4811^th	5510	12.7%
2021	22.20	1003^rd	1272	21.1%
2022	23.55	4362^nd	5663	23.0%
2023	29.47	3824^th	5650	32.3%
2024	25.49	4222^nd	5636	25.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Kern Avenue Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	26.73	3777^th	4830	21.8%
2019	27.80	3847^th	4963	22.5%
2022	30.64	3649^th	5084	28.2%
2023	35.65	3264^th	5098	36.0%
2024	28.09	3870^th	5102	24.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Kern Avenue Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	122	1	7	301	0	n/a	n/a	0	431
1989	143	0	5	326	0	n/a	n/a	0	474
1990	128	2	9	412	0	n/a	n/a	0	551
1991	154	2	10	439	0	n/a	n/a	0	605
1992	131	2	10	426	0	n/a	n/a	0	569
1993	112	2	9	460	1	n/a	n/a	0	584
1994	94	3	3	492	1	n/a	n/a	0	593
1995	71	3	1	552	1	n/a	n/a	0	628
1996	71	3	1	552	1	n/a	n/a	0	628
1997	91	2	1	649	0	n/a	n/a	0	743
1998	79	2	2	699	0	n/a	n/a	0	782
1999	56	0	1	639	0	n/a	n/a	0	696
2000	46	0	2	671	6	n/a	n/a	0	725
2001	22	0	4	695	5	n/a	n/a	0	726
2002	32	2	4	706	5	n/a	n/a	0	749
2003	32	2	4	706	5	n/a	n/a	0	749
2004	36	5	6	743	5	n/a	n/a	0	795
2005	32	4	4	785	3	n/a	n/a	0	828
2006	29	6	7	813	2	n/a	n/a	0	857
2007	32	6	5	873	2	n/a	n/a	2	920
2008	26	6	1	928	2	n/a	n/a	0	963
2009	17	6	2	925	1	0	13	0	964
2010	13	3	3	994	0	1	0	0	1014
2011	8	2	4	1011	0	0	0	0	1025
2012	13	3	6	1087	0	0	0	0	1109
2013	15	3	5	1077	0	0	0	0	1100
2014	12	3	5	1106	0	0	0	0	1126
2015	14	4	9	1129	0	0	0	0	1156
2016	11	7	7	1146	0	0	0	0	1171
2017	8	4	3	699	0	0	0	0	714
2018	12	1	3	691	0	0	0	0	707
2019	14	2	3	670	0	0	0	0	689
2020	15	2	5	754	0	0	1	0	777
2021	16	2	5	725	0	0	0	0	748
2022	15	3	5	709	0	0	0	0	732
2023	10	2	8	686	0	0	5	0	711
2024	7	4	6	682	0	0	7	0	706

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Kern Avenue Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	431	20.0	21.5	n/a
1989	474	21.5	22.0	n/a
1990	551	25.0	22.0	n/a
1991	605	27.0	22.4	n/a
1992	569	27.4	20.7	86.6
1993	584	26.0	22.5	83.2
1994	593	26.0	22.8	85.3
1995	628	25.0	25.1	88.9
1996	628	25.0	25.1	88.9
1997	743	32.0	23.2	77.3
1998	782	36.0	21.7	91.7
1999	696	37.0	18.8	95
2000	725	40.3	18.0	94.1
2001	726	43.0	16.9	94.1
2002	749	41.9	17.9	92.5
2003	749	41.9	17.9	92.5
2004	795	42.0	18.9	92.3
2005	828	45.0	18.4	89.6
2006	857	46.2	18.5	91.1
2007	920	49.2	18.7	85.1
2008	963	54.0	17.8	91.2
2009	964	52.0	17.5	99.7
2010	1014	47.0	21.5	96.3
2011	1025	n/a	n/a	97.7
2012	1109	52.0	21.3	97.2
2013	1100	51.0	21.5	98.3
2014	1126	52.0	21.6	82.1
2015	1156	52.0	22.2	87.8
2016	1171	44.0	26.6	88.5
2017	714	27.5	25.9	90.3
2018	707	26.5	26.6	90.8
2019	689	26.5	26.0	89.1
2020	777	n/a	n/a	93.1
2021	748	29.0	25.7	86.1
2022	732	29.0	25.2	88.5
2023	711	30.0	23.7	90.3
2024	706	32.0	22.0	92.1

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Kern Avenue Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	431	20.0	21.5	n/a
1989	474	21.5	22.0	n/a
1990	551	25.0	22.0	n/a
1991	605	27.0	22.4	n/a
1992	569	27.4	20.7	86.6
1993	584	26.0	22.5	83.2
1994	593	26.0	22.8	85.3
1995	628	25.0	25.1	88.9
1996	628	25.0	25.1	88.9
1997	743	32.0	23.2	77.3
1998	782	36.0	21.7	91.7
1999	696	37.0	18.8	95
2000	725	40.3	18.0	94.1
2001	726	43.0	16.9	94.1
2002	749	41.9	17.9	92.5
2003	749	41.9	17.9	92.5
2004	795	42.0	18.9	92.3
2005	828	45.0	18.4	89.6
2006	857	46.2	18.5	91.1
2007	920	49.2	18.7	85.1
2008	963	54.0	17.8	91.2
2009	964	52.0	17.5	99.7
2010	1014	47.0	21.5	96.3
2011	1025	n/a	n/a	97.7
2012	1109	52.0	21.3	97.2
2013	1100	51.0	21.5	98.3
2014	1126	52.0	21.6	82.1
2015	1156	52.0	22.2	87.8
2016	1171	44.0	26.6	88.5
2017	714	27.5	25.9	90.3
2018	707	26.5	26.6	90.8
2019	689	26.5	26.0	89.1
2020	777	n/a	n/a	93.1
2021	748	29.0	25.7	86.1
2022	732	29.0	25.2	88.5
2023	711	30.0	23.7	90.3
2024	706	32.0	22.0	92.1

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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