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Bill L. Williams Elementary

Q: Is Bill L. Williams Elementary a good school?

Bill L. Williams Elementary ranks 3423 rd of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-6

3423^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 42% of California elementary schools

Summary

Bill L. Williams Elementary is a K-6 public school serving 926 students in Bakersfield within the Panama-Buena Vista Union district, operating in a high-need environment where over three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, the school's statewide ranking has declined over the past decade to the 42nd percentile, placing it in the middle compared to nearby schools; it outperforms peers like Charles H. Castle Elementary and Stine Elementary but lags behind Douglas J. Miller Elementary. Performance varies significantly by grade and subject, with a notable strength in 6th-grade English but a critical weakness in 5th-grade math, and the school shows a striking efficiency, achieving competitive results while spending less per student than several district peers.

A key strength is the school's management of chronic absenteeism, which at 15.8% is better than the district and state averages and significantly better than many nearby schools, showing strong post-pandemic recovery. The school's performance with different student groups shows mixed results, with historically strong support for English Learners and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds showing recent declines, while another subgroup shows significant underperformance. Interestingly, cross-district comparisons reveal that W. A. Kendrick Elementary in the Greenfield Union district dramatically outperforms area schools with similar demographics, suggesting district-level practices can impact outcomes.

926

Students ?

26.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,907

Per pupil spending ?

77.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5601 Harris Rd.
Bakersfield, CA 93313-6042

(661) 837-8070

District: Panama-Buena Vista Union

Students who attend Bill L. Williams Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	O. J. Actis Junior High
High:	Independence High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

68.7%

Asian:

11.7%

White:

9.2%

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Compare Bill L. Williams Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 57th percentile in 2013 → 42nd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the California average (34% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 15 percentile points since 2013

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school34%

District avg38%

California avg41%

3,423^rd of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Bottom 42%▼ down 4 pts since 2015

From bottom 45% (2015) to bottom 42% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

12^th of 20Elementary 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	36.8	3423 of 5857	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.0	3126 of 5869	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.3	2736 of 5859	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	44.9	2802 of 5883	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	54.7	2341 of 5789	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	51.6	2473 of 5662	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2017	57.5	2153 of 5692	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2016	39.0	3141 of 5614	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	38.9	3079 of 5611	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2013	55.1	2395 of 5530	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2012	56.6	2232 of 5390	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	44.9	2900 of 5377	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	49.0	2616 of 5314	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2009	46.9	2665 of 5193	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2008	41.0	2884 of 5113	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2007	38.1	3038 of 5113	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	34.3	3039 of 4818	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2005	43.9	2489 of 4822	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2004	43.6	2475 of 4809	48.5%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2018	71.3	142 of 700	79.7%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	16.6	1024 of 1203	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.5	1056 of 1205	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.3	998 of 1190	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.7	947 of 1154	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.9	925 of 1149	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	4.3	1023 of 1071	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	55.1	702 of 2227	68.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	66.3	572 of 2585	77.9%	★★★★☆
2018	49.1	798 of 2128	62.5%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	46.5	1389 of 3162	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	48.9	1252 of 3245	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	63.0	667 of 3311	79.9%	★★★★☆
2019	46.5	1419 of 3275	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	50.5	1228 of 3246	62.2%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	31.1	3767 of 5597	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	36.9	3282 of 5612	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	42.4	2857 of 5609	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.8	3064 of 5635	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.3	2311 of 5492	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	53.3	2310 of 5413	57.3%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	44.9	2657 of 5107	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	51.6	2168 of 5107	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	60.2	1654 of 5087	67.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.7	1748 of 5084	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	66.5	1325 of 4963	73.3%	★★★★☆
2018	67.6	1260 of 4830	73.9%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	46.9	2661 of 5460	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	50.6	2360 of 5517	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	60.5	1712 of 5363	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.0	1924 of 5264	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	63.0	1565 of 5173	69.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	59.4	1775 of 5084	65.1%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	43.0	2933 of 5628	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.5	2786 of 5643	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	49.0	2510 of 5638	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.3	2427 of 5663	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	54.1	2249 of 5510	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	50.1	2439 of 5431	55.1%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	40.3	1448 of 2847	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.2	1228 of 2635	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	50.8	892 of 2420	63.1%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	15.4	2263 of 2598	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.8	1998 of 2651	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.5	2181 of 2661	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.4	2210 of 2726	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.7	2131 of 2834	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.3	2097 of 2737	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2018)80th percentile+23 vs school

Disabled (2022)68th percentile+16 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)56th percentile+9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)51st percentile+10 vs school

Special Education (2025)49th percentile+8 vs school

Hispanic (2025)48th percentile+6 vs school

Male (2025)48th percentile+6 vs school

Female (2025)33rd percentile-9 vs school

Asian (2025)15th percentile-27 vs school

White (2025)13th percentile-29 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy42%-7 vs state

Mathematics28%-9 vs state

Science23%-10 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Saturday, November 20, 2021

I substituted here I no longer work here. I would send kids that were clearly sick to the office and they would send them right back. It was terrible and when I informed the district I was retaliated against. Close Quote

Schools Near Bill L. Williams Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations 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)					% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	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 All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Bill L. Williams Elementary	Public	K-6	5601 Harris Rd.	Bakersfield	93313	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 837-8070	926	36	26.0	77.6%	85 (9.2%)	44 (4.8%)	636 (68.7%)	108 (11.7%)	3 (0.3%)	4 (0.4%)	46 (5.0%)	36.8	3423^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	41.6%		41	3126^th of 5869 public elementary schools	46.7%	297	22.6	22.6	28.5	45.2	44.0	48.9	41.8	35.4	33.9	16.3	27.7	28.1	95.4		98.0		96.7	98.0	$13,907	$1,853	$12,054
Douglas J. Miller Elementary	Public	K-6	7345 Mountain Ridge Dr.	Bakersfield	93313	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 836-6689	994	36	28.0	80.0%	61 (6.1%)	47 (4.7%)	524 (52.7%)	333 (33.5%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	26 (2.6%)	53	2433^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	58.5%		49.7	2576^th of 5869 public elementary schools	56.1%	143	27.8	27.8	49.3	47.4	44.7	59.9	50.3	50.7	43.1	20.7	40.9	38.5							$19,155	$1,927	$17,228
Roy W. Loudon Elementary	Public	K-6	4000 Loudon St.	Bakersfield	93313	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 398-3210	807	34	23.6	88.0%	76 (9.4%)	50 (6.2%)	600 (74.3%)	36 (4.5%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	41 (5.1%)	32.6	3762^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	35.8%		34.2	3589^th of 5869 public elementary schools	38.8%	173	19.4	19.4	40.7	34.5	44.9	45.4	41.4	32.6	20.0	19.6	23.7	23.5	97.0	97.0	98.0		97.0		$16,951	$2,067	$14,884
Donald E. Suburu	Public	K-5	7315 Harris Rd.	Bakersfield	93313	Kern County	Lakeside Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 665-8190	803	36	22.3	69.7%	93 (11.6%)	53 (6.6%)	529 (65.9%)	81 (10.1%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (5.2%)	17.6	5046^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.8%		21.4	4738^th of 5869 public elementary schools	19.3%	308	13.8	13.8	24.8	27.8	24.4		25.7	30.1	20.3	10.5		20.5	94.7				94.7	98.2	$12,768	$1,061	$11,707
Berkshire Elementary	Public	K-6	3900 Berkshire Rd.	Bakersfield	93313	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 834-9472	932	36	25.8	85.1%	51 (5.5%)	65 (7.0%)	655 (70.3%)	133 (14.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (3.0%)	22.8	4614^th of 5857 public elementary schools	21.2%		26.6	4240^th of 5869 public elementary schools	27.8%	374	15.6	15.6	36.4	22.0	29.6	40.1	32.2	35.6	13.7	8.6	19.7	18.9	98.5	98.5					$15,580	$1,841	$13,739
Louise Sandrini Elementary	Public	K-6	4100 Alum Ave.	Bakersfield	93309	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 397-1515	604	25	24.1	91.9%	42 (7.0%)	51 (8.4%)	460 (76.2%)	10 (1.7%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	38 (6.3%)	35	3585^th of 5857 public elementary schools	38.8%		49	2613^th of 5869 public elementary schools	55.5%	972	18.5	18.5	52.1	37.1	31.5	39.2	39.3	52.8	34.1	14.1	20.6	29.0	88.5	93.1	95.4	93.1	90.8	94.3	$17,005	$2,234	$14,771
Charles H. Castle Elementary	Public	K-6	6001 Edgemont Dr.	Bakersfield	93309	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 834-5311	832	31	27.0	93.8%	68 (8.2%)	95 (11.4%)	611 (73.4%)	17 (2.0%)	5 (0.6%)	6 (0.7%)	29 (3.5%)	17.1	5087^th of 5857 public elementary schools	13.1%		16.4	5177^th of 5869 public elementary schools	11.8%	90	12.4	12.4	35.9	21.6	25.2	20.7	26.0	28.3	20.2	9.4	11.9	17.6	96.0				96.8		$15,181	$1,986	$13,195
Granite Pointe Elementary	Public	K-5	2900 Berkshire Rd.	Bakersfield	93313	Kern County	Greenfield Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 837-6040	670	29	23.1	90.1%	40 (6.0%)	43 (6.4%)	541 (80.7%)	33 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	11 (1.6%)	48.2	2688^th of 5857 public elementary schools	54.1%		42.7	3019^th of 5869 public elementary schools	48.6%	331	31.3	31.3	45.6	42.6	49.5		45.6	53.3	31.5	29.6		37.9	94.6	98.2	98.2		95.8	98.2	$19,612	$2,093	$17,519
W. A. Kendrick Elementary	Public	K-5	2200 Faith Ave.	Bakersfield	93304	Kern County	Greenfield Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 837-6190	699	31	22.4	92.8%	31 (4.4%)	40 (5.7%)	610 (87.3%)	8 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.3%)	77.2	1275^th of 5857 public elementary schools	78.2%		84.4	979^th of 5869 public elementary schools	83.3%	296	44.0	44.0	51.9	70.1	67.9		63.7	44.8	64.1	60.6		57.0	95.6	97.8	97.8		95.6		$17,798	$2,087	$15,711
Stine Elementary	Public	K-6	4300 Wilson Rd.	Bakersfield	93309	Kern County	Panama-Buena Vista Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 831-1022	615	26	23.6	93.5%	43 (7.0%)	81 (13.2%)	457 (74.3%)	11 (1.8%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	20 (3.3%)	16.7	5131^st of 5857 public elementary schools	12.4%		16.3	5194^th of 5869 public elementary schools	11.5%	63	14.7	14.7	24.7	29.2	28.1	35.7	29.4	17.7	16.7	7.4	9.5	12.5	95.6				96.5		$17,231	$2,195	$15,036

Frequently Asked Questions about Bill L. Williams Elementary

What district is Bill L. Williams Elementary in?

Panama-Buena Vista Union

Is Bill L. Williams Elementary a good school?

Bill L. Williams Elementary ranks 3423^rd of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Bill L. Williams Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 926 students attended Bill L. Williams Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Bill L. Williams Elementary attend?

Students who attend Bill L. Williams Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : O. J. Actis Junior High
High : Independence High

What is the racial makeup of Bill L. Williams Elementary?

Students at Bill L. Williams Elementary are 69% Hispanic, 12% Asian, 9% White, 5% Two or more races, 5% African American.

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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.