High school (grades 9-12) · Bakersfield, CA

Liberty High

Federal NCES profile for Liberty High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 061954007994
0/100100/10040/100
👥 S:T ratio
0
📚 AP courses
60
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
21
📋 Attendance
50
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Liberty High earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of California schools. It is also one of the largest schools in California.

#6 of 20
high schools in Bakersfield · Resource Index
40
Resource Index · Typical
27.5:1
large classes for California
32.1%
free-lunch eligible

Liberty High has class sizes larger than 91% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Liberty High ranks #6 of 20 high schools in Bakersfield, CA.

School address

Enrollment

2,369

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

86.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

27.5:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+28% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

32.1%

vs 55.5% California avg

-42% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Liberty High compares with California and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Liberty High

Liberty High is a large high school in Bakersfield, California, enrolling 2,369 students.

Class loads run heavy: 27.5:1 is larger than about 91% of California schools and 28% above the 21.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 32.1% of students eligible for free meals.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in California, bigger than 98% of state schools at 2,369 students.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 241 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #89.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (45%) and White (36%) (diversity index 66/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 12 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 395 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 5 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Bakersfield's high schools, it stands alongside Bakersfield High (3,069 students): Liberty High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (27.5:1 vs 24.4:1).

Kern High also operates Bakersfield High (3,069 students) and Arvin High (2,653 students) alongside Liberty High.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Liberty High compares

Liberty High on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 27.5:1 ▲ 28% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 32.1% ▼ 42% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 2,369 top 2% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

27.5:1
Leaner classes than 3% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
2,369
Bigger than 99% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
32.1%
free-lunch eligible - 42% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
27.5:1
students per teacher - 28% above state mean
Top 91% in California - lower ratio than 9% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
20.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,830
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 395 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 124 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

Hispanic or Latino 44.7%
White 36.1%
Two or More 10.2%
Asian 5.4%
African American 3.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 44.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 65.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 65.6, Liberty High is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

AP courses offered 12
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kern High, which includes Liberty High.

$15,830
Per student
-4%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.9%
State 63.4%
Federal 11.6%

Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.

How Liberty High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Bakersfield High Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Arvin High Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Ridgeview High Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Highland High Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Stockdale High Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Liberty High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Kern High · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Bakersfield

6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Liberty High's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Liberty High

How many students attend Liberty High?

Liberty High has 2,369 students enrolled. It is a high school in Bakersfield, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Liberty High?

The student-teacher ratio at Liberty High is 27.5:1, which is 28% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 75% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Liberty High?

32.1% of students at Liberty High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Liberty High?

The largest demographic group at Liberty High is Hispanic or Latino at 44.7% of enrollment, in Bakersfield, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 65.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Liberty High?

Liberty High has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Liberty High rank among high schools in Bakersfield?

By Resource Investment Index, Liberty High ranks #6 of 20 high schools in Bakersfield, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Bakersfield on the city page.

Is Liberty High a good school?

Liberty High earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 91% of California schools. It is also one of the largest schools in California. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Kern High?

Besides Liberty High, Kern High also operates Bakersfield High (3,069 students), Arvin High (2,653 students), and Ridgeview High (2,575 students). See the Kern High district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.