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Fred L. Thompson Junior High

Public Grades 7-8

2239^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,761 California Middle Schools

Better than 19% of California middle schools

Summary

Fred L. Thompson Junior High is a public middle school serving about 714 students in grades 7-8 within the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District in Bakersfield, CA, where over 90% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school faces significant challenges, with its statewide ranking having declined over recent years to the 19th percentile. Student proficiency in core subjects, especially mathematics where only about 10% of students are proficient, is substantially lower than at other nearby schools in the same district, such as Earl Warren Junior High and Stonecreek Junior High. Chronic absenteeism, while improved from pandemic highs, remains a concern at nearly 25%, which is higher than the district and state averages.

Despite these academic struggles, the school has a relatively favorable student-teacher ratio of 17-to-1 and spends more per student than some higher-performing schools in the area. This suggests that factors beyond just funding and class size are at play. The school's performance trajectory and the wide gap with other schools in the Panama-Buena Vista Union district indicate a need for targeted improvements, particularly in math instruction and attendance, though historical data shows the school has had periods of success with specific student subgroups.

714

Students ?

17.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,268

Per pupil spending ?

91.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4200 Planz Rd.
Bakersfield, CA 93309-5954

(661) 832-8011

District: Panama-Buena Vista Union

Students who attend Fred L. Thompson Junior High usually attend:

High:

West High

Feeder schools for Fred L. Thompson Junior High:

Elementary:	Amy B. Seibert Elementary
	Louise Sandrini Elementary
	Roy W. Loudon Elementary
	Stine Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

73.7%

African American:

13.3%

White:

7.0%

See top rated California middle schools

Compare Fred L. Thompson Junior High to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 17th percentile in 2013 → 19th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (20% vs 41% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school20%

District avg38%

California avg41%

2,239^th of 2,761

California public middle schools ?

Bottom 19%▲ up 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of California Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 5Middle Schools in the Panama-Buena Vista Union

812^th of 1,543Panama-Buena Vista Union 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	19.7	2239 of 2761	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.0	2298 of 2783	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.5	2145 of 2781	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.9	1953 of 2740	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.5	1809 of 2715	33.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	28.2	1722 of 2480	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2017	25.0	1857 of 2508	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	19.8	2036 of 2497	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	18.3	2069 of 2477	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	20.9	1975 of 2379	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	24.8	1793 of 2259	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	25.4	1765 of 2236	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	22.1	1785 of 2179	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	33.7	1370 of 2063	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2008	31.9	1376 of 2005	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2007	37.3	1186 of 1999	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2006	39.3	1028 of 1804	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2005	35.9	1088 of 1777	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	34.7	1089 of 1769	38.4%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	27.4	457 of 609	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.0	455 of 627	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.0	427 of 613	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.4	404 of 637	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.3	334 of 643	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.6	323 of 600	46.2%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	28.9	1096 of 1531	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	33.9	900 of 1491	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	36.3	776 of 1369	43.3%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	34.5	983 of 1478	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.7	897 of 1521	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	46.5	562 of 1540	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	46.7	500 of 1442	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.1	388 of 1364	71.6%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	20.4	2064 of 2533	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.0	2049 of 2551	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.7	1794 of 2531	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.4	1719 of 2509	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	27.8	1689 of 2380	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.2	1530 of 2262	32.4%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.9	1841 of 2395	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.1	1867 of 2388	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.1	1593 of 2374	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.9	1435 of 2359	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	38.8	1286 of 2213	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.5	1170 of 2072	43.5%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	73.2	62 of 336	81.5%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	24.8	1973 of 2542	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.8	2032 of 2579	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.6	1767 of 2531	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.4	1463 of 2458	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	40.4	1319 of 2369	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.6	1342 of 2230	39.8%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	19.0	2103 of 2534	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.2	2198 of 2552	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.3	2121 of 2538	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.1	1883 of 2527	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.0	1638 of 2407	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.5	1737 of 2273	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2023	3.8	668 of 677	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	30.3	1088 of 1566	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.3	1265 of 1552	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	37.2	846 of 1531	44.7%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	14.7	1328 of 1520	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.7	1274 of 1537	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.2	1145 of 1543	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.8	1103 of 1555	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.8	1288 of 1602	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.0	1299 of 1496	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Homeless (2022)82nd percentile+53 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)33rd percentile+16 vs school

Special Education (2025)31st percentile+12 vs school

Disabled (2022)28th percentile~ school

African American (2025)25th percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)23rd percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)19th percentile~ school

Male (2025)17th percentile~ school

White (2025)13th percentile-6 vs school

Multi-racial (2023)1st percentile-22 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy32%-17 vs state

Science17%-15 vs state

Mathematics10%-27 vs state

★

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Schools Near Fred L. Thompson Junior High

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
Fred L. Thompson Junior High	Public	7-8	4200 Planz Rd.	Bakersfield	93309	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 832-8011	714	42	17.0	91.6%	50 (7.0%)	95 (13.3%)	526 (73.7%)	15 (2.1%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.7%)	20 (2.8%)	19.7	2239^th of 2761 public middle schools	18.9%		19	2298^th of 2783 public middle schools	17.4%	59	17.4	17.4		32.1	32.0	32.1		12.1	7.8	9.8	$18,268	$2,057	$16,211
O. J. Actis Junior High	Public	7-8	2400 Westholme Blvd.	Bakersfield	93309	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 833-1250	681	42	16.1	84.6%	71 (10.4%)	87 (12.8%)	467 (68.6%)	22 (3.2%)	3 (0.4%)	6 (0.9%)	24 (3.5%)	23.8	2061^st of 2761 public middle schools	25.4%		28.7	1871^st of 2783 public middle schools	32.8%	190	18.4	18.4		34.7	33.2	34.0		15.9	15.0	15.4	$20,376	$1,923	$18,453
Curran Middle	Public	6-8	1116 Lymric Way	Bakersfield	93309	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5240	973	46	21.1	87.4%	50 (5.1%)	113 (11.6%)	771 (79.2%)	12 (1.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	25 (2.6%)	14.7	2453^rd of 2761 public middle schools	11.2%		21.7	2186^th of 2783 public middle schools	21.5%	267	12.9	12.9	25.5	28.9	28.3	28.0	8.8	7.3	6.1	7.1	$17,919	$2,510	$15,409
Greenfield Middle	Public	6-8	1109 Pacheco Rd.	Bakersfield	93307	Kern County	Greenfield Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 837-6110	873	42	21.0	95.6%	40 (4.6%)	65 (7.4%)	734 (84.1%)	12 (1.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (2.3%)	33.2	1709^th of 2761 public middle schools	38.1%		38	1531^st of 2783 public middle schools	45.0%	178	25.3	25.3	38.3	42.7	38.2	39.7	22.5	19.6	19.6	20.6	$17,323	$2,055	$15,268
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
Tevis Junior High	Public	7-8	3901 Pin Oak Park Blvd.	Bakersfield	93311	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 664-7211	807	41	19.7	73.7%	171 (21.2%)	56 (6.9%)	484 (60.0%)	40 (5.0%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	51 (6.3%)	45.4	1315^th of 2761 public middle schools	52.4%		51	1141^st of 2783 public middle schools	59.0%	174	26.0	26.0		56.6	41.9	49.2		28.7	23.6	26.1	$16,021	$1,448	$14,573
Stonecreek Junior High	Public	7-8	8000 Akers Rd.	Bakersfield	93313	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 834-4521	986	52	18.9	81.8%	67 (6.8%)	62 (6.3%)	665 (67.4%)	141 (14.3%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	45 (4.6%)	57.4	970^th of 2761 public middle schools	64.9%		49.5	1185^th of 2783 public middle schools	57.4%	215	31.8	31.8		59.6	61.8	60.7		26.2	28.7	27.5	$17,075	$2,124	$14,951
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
Leon H. Ollivier Middle	Public	6-8	7310 Monitor St.	Bakersfield	93307	Kern County	Greenfield Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 837-6120	1,152	48	23.8	93.7%	44 (3.8%)	53 (4.6%)	1,010 (87.7%)	30 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	13 (1.1%)	54.1	1073^rd of 2761 public middle schools	61.1%		56.9	964^th of 2783 public middle schools	65.4%	109	35.4	35.4	48.8	54.1	54.6	52.5	31.6	28.4	30.3	30.1	$16,188	$1,869	$14,319
Earl Warren Junior High	Public	7-8	4615 Mountain Vista Dr.	Bakersfield	93311	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 665-9210	965	46	21.0	59.4%	207 (21.5%)	72 (7.5%)	458 (47.5%)	167 (17.3%)	5 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	54 (5.6%)	76.1	560^th of 2761 public middle schools	79.7%		76	567^th of 2783 public middle schools	79.6%	7	40.2	40.2		70.0	67.3	68.6		49.0	36.2	42.5	$14,453	$1,265	$13,188

Frequently Asked Questions about Fred L. Thompson Junior High

What is the racial makeup of Fred L. Thompson Junior High?

Students at Fred L. Thompson Junior High are 74% Hispanic, 13% African American, 7% White, 3% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What district is Fred L. Thompson Junior High in?

Panama-Buena Vista Union

What high school do graduates of Fred L. Thompson Junior High attend?

Students who attend Fred L. Thompson Junior High usually go on to attend West High

How many students attend Fred L. Thompson Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 714 students attended Fred L. Thompson Junior High.

Is Fred L. Thompson Junior High a good school?

Fred L. Thompson Junior High ranks in the bottom 18.9% of California middle schools.

Rate Fred L. Thompson Junior High!

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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.