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Sierra Middle

Public Grades 6-8

2467^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 11% of California middle schools

Summary

Sierra Middle is a public middle school located in Bakersfield, California, serving 746 students in grades 6-8. The school faces significant challenges, with consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, low test scores, and achievement gaps for certain student subgroups.

Sierra Middle's test scores are consistently lower than the Bakersfield City and California averages across all subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, only 27.38% of Sierra Middle students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 28.11% for Bakersfield City and 48.81% for California. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was only 5.44%, compared to 15.21% for Bakersfield City and 37.3% for California. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as African American and disabled students.

When comparing Sierra Middle to other nearby schools in the Bakersfield City School District, it becomes clear that Sierra Middle is one of the lower-performing schools in the district. Schools like Chipman Junior High and Paul L. Cato Middle have significantly higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates. Sierra Middle's high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, coupled with the low performance of certain subgroups, suggests that the school faces significant socioeconomic challenges that may be impacting student learning and achievement.

731

Students ?

20.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,917

Per pupil spending ?

96.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3017 Center St.
Bakersfield, CA 93306-5399

(661) 631-5470

District: Bakersfield City

Students who attend Sierra Middle usually attend:

High:

Foothill High

Feeder schools for Sierra Middle:

Elementary:	Cesar E. Chavez Elementary
	Mt. Vernon Elementary
	Pioneer Drive Elementary
	Ramon Garza Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

90.7%

White:

4.2%

African American:

2.9%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 5th percentile in 2017 → 11th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 11th (2025) from a 5th-percentile low (2017)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (16% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 32 pts below the California average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school16%

District avg21%

California avg41%

2,467^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 11%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 14% (2015) to bottom 11% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 10Middle Schools in the Bakersfield City

1357^th of 1,543Bakersfield City among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.4	2467 of 2761	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.3	2504 of 2783	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	11.7	2619 of 2781	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.5	2589 of 2740	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.6	2365 of 2715	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.9	2211 of 2480	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	10.4	2371 of 2508	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	16.8	2149 of 2497	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	16.5	2138 of 2477	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	21.0	1974 of 2379	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	24.1	1810 of 2259	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	22.2	1853 of 2236	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	16.6	1931 of 2179	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	16.1	1818 of 2063	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	20.2	1671 of 2005	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	19.0	1668 of 1999	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	14.9	1600 of 1804	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	12.3	1627 of 1777	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	12.2	1627 of 1769	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	27.8	470 of 637	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.5	509 of 643	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.6	570 of 600	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	20.8	1429 of 1531	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.8	1409 of 1491	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	28.4	999 of 1369	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	39.5	752 of 1478	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.9	1075 of 1521	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.2	1244 of 1540	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.4	1363 of 1442	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	25.8	1217 of 1364	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	15.4	2253 of 2533	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.4	2315 of 2551	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.1	2435 of 2531	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.0	2375 of 2509	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.8	2150 of 2380	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.6	2049 of 2262	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.5	2059 of 2395	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.9	2051 of 2388	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.2	2168 of 2374	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	2190 of 2359	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.6	1834 of 2213	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.1	1784 of 2072	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	26.2	317 of 394	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.6	257 of 320	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.5	226 of 336	32.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	18.2	2207 of 2542	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.4	2247 of 2579	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.1	2361 of 2531	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.2	2290 of 2458	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.6	1973 of 2369	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.2	1928 of 2230	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.6	2308 of 2534	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.4	2312 of 2552	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.1	2364 of 2538	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.6	2420 of 2527	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.0	2099 of 2407	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.8	2080 of 2273	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	13.7	92 of 95	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	40.6	57 of 94	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	22.5	74 of 86	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	21.9	1398 of 1566	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.8	1285 of 1552	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.3	1409 of 1531	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	3.2	1537 of 1555	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2024)49th percentile+39 vs school

African American (2022)26th percentile+21 vs school

Homeless (2024)20th percentile+10 vs school

Hispanic (2025)14th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)11th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)11th percentile~ school

Male (2025)9th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)7th percentile~ school

Migrant (2025)3rd percentile-7 vs school

White (2022)1st percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy27%-21 vs state

Science15%-18 vs state

Mathematics5%-32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Sierra Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)		Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)				Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Sierra Middle	Public	6-8	3017 Center St.	Bakersfield	93306	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5470	731	35	20.7	96.4%	31 (4.2%)	21 (2.9%)	663 (90.7%)	2 (0.3%)	7 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.0%)	14.4	2467^th of 2761 public middle schools	10.6%		14.3	2504^th of 2783 public middle schools	10.0%	37	14.6	14.6	21.8	30.0	27.6	27.4	3.0	5.6	6.4	5.4	$18,917	$2,665	$16,252
Compton Junior High	Public	7-8	3211 Pico Ave.	Bakersfield	93306	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5230	586	28	20.5	85.8%	47 (8.0%)	25 (4.3%)	502 (85.7%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.0%)	19	2273^rd of 2761 public middle schools	17.7%		17.8	2351^st of 2783 public middle schools	15.5%	78	21.2	21.2		25.7	33.0	29.2		9.4	8.0	8.7	$19,923	$2,712	$17,211
Chipman Junior High	Public	7-8	2905 Eissler St.	Bakersfield	93306	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5210	708	33	21.7	66.2%	105 (14.8%)	43 (6.1%)	537 (75.8%)	11 (1.6%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (1.3%)	32.7	1728^th of 2761 public middle schools	37.4%		41.2	1423^rd of 2783 public middle schools	48.9%	305	19.8	19.8		45.5	34.0	39.6		25.9	18.4	22.1	$18,488	$2,574	$15,914
Walter Stiern Middle	Public	6-8	2551 Morning Dr.	Bakersfield	93306	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5480	891	41	21.4	81.5%	63 (7.1%)	32 (3.6%)	787 (88.3%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.7%)	12.9	2522^nd of 2761 public middle schools	8.7%		17.5	2367^th of 2783 public middle schools	14.9%	155	10.9	10.9	23.4	27.8	18.1	22.6	8.9	12.2	7.9	9.5	$20,081	$2,574	$17,507
Fairfax Junior High	Public	5-8	1500 South Fairfax Rd.	Bakersfield	93307	Kern County	Fairfax Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 366-4461	609	31	19.4	97.2%	17 (2.8%)	10 (1.6%)	555 (91.1%)	8 (1.3%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (2.6%)	23.1	2093^rd of 2761 public middle schools	24.2%		20.8	2230^th of 2783 public middle schools	19.9%	137	13.5	13.5		36.5	28.8	32.8		15.6	20.4	17.9
Abraham Lincoln Junior High	Public	7-8	800 Chico St.	Bakersfield	93305	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5950	527	27	19.7	99.4%	15 (2.8%)	48 (9.1%)	454 (86.1%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (0.9%)	6.7	2702^nd of 2761 public middle schools	2.1%		9	2698^th of 2783 public middle schools	3.1%	4	3.7	3.7		17.4	13.1	15.5		3.6	1.9	2.9	$22,162	$2,788	$19,374
Washington Middle	Public	6-8	1101 Noble Ave.	Bakersfield	93305	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5810	639	30	21.6	91.1%	46 (7.2%)	45 (7.0%)	537 (84.0%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.9%)	9.7	2624^th of 2761 public middle schools	5.0%		9.5	2682^nd of 2783 public middle schools	3.6%	58	8.9	8.9	22.6	22.9	17.0	20.6	5.5	6.1	3.0	4.8	$18,263	$2,817	$15,446
Paul L. Cato Middle	Public	6-8	4115 Vineland Rd.	Bakersfield	93306	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5245	694	31	22.5	53.6%	134 (19.3%)	18 (2.6%)	497 (71.6%)	30 (4.3%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.4%)	52.4	1121^st of 2761 public middle schools	59.4%		55.3	1007^th of 2783 public middle schools	63.8%	114	30.5	30.5	53.0	46.6	49.3	49.1	39.7	32.8	29.2	32.9	$19,264	$2,251	$17,013
Emerson Middle	Public	6-8	801 Fourth St.	Bakersfield	93304	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5260	813	37	21.9	90.2%	49 (6.0%)	107 (13.2%)	627 (77.1%)	13 (1.6%)	4 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	10 (1.2%)	13.7	2488^th of 2761 public middle schools	9.9%		15.4	2462^nd of 2783 public middle schools	11.5%	26	16.9	16.9	28.5	21.6	26.0	24.8	7.5	7.3	3.4	5.9	$18,410	$2,638	$15,772
Sequoia Junior High	Public	7-8	900 Belle Terr.	Bakersfield	93304	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5940	746	35	21.5	97.2%	22 (2.9%)	60 (8.0%)	651 (87.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	9 (1.2%)	12.4	2542^nd of 2761 public middle schools	7.9%		15	2478^th of 2783 public middle schools	11.0%	64	14.9	14.9		22.1	17.7	20.0		9.6	6.6	8.1	$19,690	$3,749	$15,941

Frequently Asked Questions about Sierra Middle

What is the racial makeup of Sierra Middle?

Students at Sierra Middle are 91% Hispanic, 4% White, 3% African American.

How many students attend Sierra Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 731 students attended Sierra Middle.

What district is Sierra Middle in?

Bakersfield City

What high school do graduates of Sierra Middle attend?

Students who attend Sierra Middle usually go on to attend Foothill High

Is Sierra Middle a good school?

Sierra Middle ranks in the bottom 10.6% of California middle schools.

Rate Sierra Middle!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.