Middle school (grades 6-8) · Bakersfield, CA

Washington Middle

Federal NCES profile for Washington Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 060363000320
0/100100/10027/100
👥 S:T ratio
12
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Washington Middle earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#8 of 25
middle schools in Bakersfield · Resource Index
27
Resource Index · Lower
22:1
students per teacher
87.7%
free-lunch eligible

Washington Middle has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Washington Middle ranks #8 of 25 middle schools in Bakersfield, CA.

School address

Enrollment

639

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

29.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

22:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+2% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

87.7%

vs 55.5% California avg

+58% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Washington Middle compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Washington Middle

Washington Middle is a high-poverty, mid-sized middle school in Bakersfield, California, enrolling 639 students.

At 22:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need is high: 87.7% of students qualify for free meals, 58% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 639 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

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

Against 1,562 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #674.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 28/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 59.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 15.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Bakersfield's middle schools, it stands alongside Leon H. Ollivier Middle (1,152 students): Washington Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (22:1 vs 24:1).

Bakersfield City also operates Curran Middle (973 students) and Colonel Howard Nichols Elementary (960 students) alongside Washington Middle.

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 Washington Middle compares

Washington Middle on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 22:1 ▲ 2% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 87.7% ▲ 58% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 639 top 28% - -

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

22:1
Leaner classes than 10% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
639
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
87.7%
free-lunch eligible - 58% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
22:1
students per teacher - 2% above state mean
Top 53% in California - lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
59.5%
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
$17,295
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 39 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

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 84.2%
White 7.2%
African American 7.1%
Two or More 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Asian 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 84.2% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 28.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 28.1, Washington Middle is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bakersfield City, which includes Washington Middle.

$17,295
Per student
+5%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 6.5%
State 77.8%
Federal 15.7%

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 Washington Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Curran Middle Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Colonel Howard Nichols Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Voorhies Elementary Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Walter Stiern Middle Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Horace Mann Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Bakersfield City · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Bakersfield

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle 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 Washington Middle'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 Washington Middle

How many students attend Washington Middle?

Washington Middle has 639 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Bakersfield, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Washington Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Washington Middle is 22:1, which is 2% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 40% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Washington Middle?

87.7% of students at Washington Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Washington Middle?

The largest demographic group at Washington Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 84.2% of enrollment, in Bakersfield, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Washington Middle?

Washington Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Washington Middle rank among middle schools in Bakersfield?

By Resource Investment Index, Washington Middle ranks #8 of 25 middle 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 middle schools in Bakersfield on the city page.

Is Washington Middle a good school?

Washington Middle earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Bakersfield City?

Besides Washington Middle, Bakersfield City also operates Curran Middle (973 students), Colonel Howard Nichols Elementary (960 students), and Voorhies Elementary (915 students). See the Bakersfield City 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.