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Walter Stiern Middle

Public Grades 6-8

2522^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 9% of California middle schools

Summary

Walter Stiern Middle is a public school serving about 890 students in grades 6-8 within the Bakersfield City School District, which faces significant academic challenges across the region.

The school is contending with serious academic difficulties, with student proficiency in core subjects like math (9.5%), English (22.6%), and science (10.9%) falling well below both district and state averages. Chronic student absenteeism, at 24.3%, is also higher than average. Perhaps most concerning is the school's rapid decline in statewide ranking, dropping from the 23rd to the 9th percentile in just two years, with particularly steep drops in performance for students from low-income households and those in special education.

These struggles are highlighted by a striking comparison to the nearby Paul L. Cato Middle, located just over a mile away. That school, in the same district, ranks in the 59th percentile with significantly higher test scores and much lower absenteeism, despite similar per-student spending. This suggests that improvement is possible within the same community. Key areas for focus include math instruction, improving attendance, and reviewing how the school's substantial resources are allocated to better support all students.

891

Students ?

21.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,081

Per pupil spending ?

81.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2551 Morning Dr.
Bakersfield, CA 93306-4927

(661) 631-5480

District: Bakersfield City

Students who attend Walter Stiern Middle usually attend:

High:

Foothill High

Feeder schools for Walter Stiern Middle:

Elementary:	Horace Mann Elementary
	Hort Elementary
	Jefferson Elementary
	Voorhies Elementary
	More...
	Williams Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

88.3%

White:

7.1%

African American:

3.6%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Walter Stiern Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 22nd percentile in 2013 → 9th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (15% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2013

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school15%

District avg21%

California avg41%

2,522^nd of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 16 pts since 2015

From bottom 25% (2015) to bottom 9% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^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	12.9	2522 of 2761	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.5	2367 of 2783	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.7	2138 of 2781	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.0	2453 of 2740	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.6	2073 of 2715	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.9	1889 of 2480	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	26.1	1808 of 2508	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	20.8	1994 of 2497	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	24.4	1856 of 2477	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	25.5	1860 of 2379	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.7	1897 of 2259	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	18.9	1928 of 2236	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	23.0	1761 of 2179	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	13.2	1874 of 2063	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	19.2	1697 of 2005	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	15.3	1765 of 1999	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	13.2	1635 of 1804	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	13.0	1612 of 1777	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	13.4	1609 of 1769	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	26.5	465 of 609	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.6	573 of 637	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.2	561 of 643	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.9	457 of 600	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	26.8	1193 of 1531	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.3	1078 of 1491	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.6	1197 of 1369	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	43.6	605 of 1478	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	40.6	752 of 1521	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	32.1	1140 of 1540	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.0	1120 of 1442	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.2	988 of 1364	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	15.1	2261 of 2533	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.0	2224 of 2551	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	2098 of 2531	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.7	2316 of 2509	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.5	1929 of 2380	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.8	1677 of 2262	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	15.5	2163 of 2395	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	22.7	1908 of 2388	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.2	1588 of 2374	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.0	2010 of 2359	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.4	1463 of 2213	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	32.7	1396 of 2072	32.6%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.6	2323 of 2542	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	22.6	2081 of 2579	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.0	1712 of 2531	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	18.8	2149 of 2458	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.5	1621 of 2369	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.4	1547 of 2230	30.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	11.0	2396 of 2534	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	18.2	2167 of 2552	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.8	1825 of 2538	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.9	2219 of 2527	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.8	1847 of 2407	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.5	1846 of 2273	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	53.5	39 of 95	58.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	22.3	75 of 86	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.3	1483 of 1566	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	30.2	1094 of 1552	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	1237 of 1531	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	8.2	1418 of 1520	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.3	1370 of 1537	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.5	1292 of 1543	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.7	1452 of 1555	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.5	1376 of 1602	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.0	1341 of 1496	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)59th percentile+44 vs school

Migrant (2025)59th percentile+50 vs school

African American (2025)24th percentile+15 vs school

Disabled (2022)22nd percentile+12 vs school

Female (2025)11th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)10th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)9th percentile~ school

White (2025)7th percentile~ school

Male (2025)5th percentile-3 vs school

Special Education (2025)5th percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy23%-26 vs state

Science11%-22 vs state

Mathematics9%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Walter Stiern 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 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	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 5th Grade	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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Edison Middle	Public	5-8	721 South Edison Rd.	Bakersfield	93307	Kern County	Edison Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 366-8216	489	28	17.2	88.1%	32 (6.5%)	15 (3.1%)	433 (88.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.4%)	15.2	2432^nd of 2761 public middle schools	11.9%		25.7	2008^th of 2783 public middle schools	27.8%	424	16.9	16.5	16.7	32.8	16.4	32.5	21.5	26.2	18.6	12.5	14.9	2.5	12.1	$21,366	$1,400	$19,966
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
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
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

Frequently Asked Questions about Walter Stiern Middle

What is the racial makeup of Walter Stiern Middle?

Students at Walter Stiern Middle are 88% Hispanic, 7% White, 4% African American.

How many students attend Walter Stiern Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 891 students attended Walter Stiern Middle.

Is Walter Stiern Middle a good school?

Walter Stiern Middle ranks in the bottom 8.7% of California middle schools.

What district is Walter Stiern Middle in?

Bakersfield City

What high school do graduates of Walter Stiern Middle attend?

Students who attend Walter Stiern Middle usually go on to attend Foothill High

Rate Walter Stiern 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.