Summary:
ZIP code 93309 has 14 schools—nine elementary, three middle and two high schools—serving students from elementary through high school; enrollment ranges from 345 to 2,159. Results vary widely: 2025–26 proficiency rates across schools span 39 percentage points in English language arts (ELA), 47 in math and 36 in science. Across the schools, the unweighted averages are 37% in ELA, 21% in math and 20% in science, compared with state rates of 49%, 38% and 36%. The most important area-wide finding is that math is furthest behind the state, by 17 percentage points.
Stockdale Elementary is the clearest academic standout, leading the schools with 59% proficiency in ELA, 54% in math and 41% in science—10, 15 and 5 points above state rates. Its nearest school in ELA is West High at 49%; in math and science, Quailwood Elementary follows at 37% in each. At the low end, Kern Workforce 2000 Academy has the lowest ELA and science rates, 20% and 5%, while Curran Middle has the lowest math rate, 7%. Workforce also reports a 63% graduation rate, versus 88% statewide, and 33% dropout, versus 8% statewide.
Scores improved modestly overall from 2024–25 to 2025–26: the average school gained 2 points in ELA and 1 point each in math and science. But science did not keep pace with the state: its rate rose 3 points statewide, and the average school’s gap widened from 14 to 16 points. Workforce made larger gains—11 points in ELA and 8 in math—but still had low current proficiency. Context also varies: for 2024–25, free/reduced lunch eligible rates were 60% at Stockdale, 76% at Quailwood and 92% at Louise Sandrini Elementary; Quailwood had the lowest chronic absenteeism, at 4%. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile ranking rose from 10 to 31 for Caroline Harris Elementary between 2023–24 and 2025–26, while Stockdale remained high, moving from 75 to 76.
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