Summary
Edison Middle serves 489 students in grades 5–8 in Bakersfield, California. Chronic absenteeism has fallen sharply, and the school has the lowest reported student-teacher ratio among nearby schools, but its latest statewide academic standing remains low. The most important concern is that in 2025–26, proficiency was below California’s in all three subjects: 30% in English language arts (ELA), 18% in math, and 26% in science, with gaps of 19, 21, and 10 percentage points, respectively.
Science is the school’s strongest subject compared with nearby schools and its district, while math is its largest gap against the state and district. Edison’s science rate matched the Edison Elementary district’s 26% and was 8 points above the nearby-school average of 19%; math was 5 points below the district and 2 points above the nearby average. ELA was 1 point below the district and 2 points below the nearby average. In grade-specific comparisons, Edison’s eighth-grade science rate was 31%, and only Paul L. Cato Middle had a higher result among nearby schools reporting that grade. Seventh-grade ELA was a relative concern at 26%; only Abraham Lincoln Junior High scored lower among those reporting that grade. Nearby schools serve different grade spans, so all-grades comparisons are approximate.
Results have improved overall, though not consistently: from 2022–23 to 2025–26, science rose 12 percentage points and math rose 7, while ELA increased 3 and its gap to the state stayed about 19 points. Chronic absenteeism dropped 31 points, from 37% in 2021–22 to 6% in 2025–26, below both the state’s 18% and the district’s 9%. SchoolDigger ranks Edison in the 25th percentile statewide and gives it 1 star; its percentile is higher than seven of 10 nearby schools with rankings. The 2024–25 student-teacher ratio was 17.2:1, the lowest reported nearby, and 88% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. One notable subgroup result: SchoolDigger’s effectiveness ranking for English Language Learner Students rose to the 51st percentile in 2023–24, compared with the school’s overall 28th percentile that year.
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