Enrollment
639
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Bakersfield, CA
Federal NCES profile for Washington Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.
The verdict
Washington Middle earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
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.
NCES ID 060363000320 Verify on NCES CCD record →
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
How Washington Middle compares with California and U.S. medians
Slightly above state median
22:1 - 0.5 above the California state median of 21.5:1, indicating larger average class loads than typical schools in the state.
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
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
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.
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 84.2% of enrollment.
Simpson diversity index - at 28.1, Washington Middle is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bakersfield City, which includes Washington Middle.
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.
| 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.
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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.
Washington Middle has 639 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Bakersfield, CA.
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.
87.7% of students at Washington Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
The largest demographic group at Washington Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 84.2% of enrollment, in Bakersfield, CA.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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PlainSchools, “Washington Middle, Bakersfield CA.” Compiled from NCES Common Core of Data, Civil Rights Data Collection, and the NCES F-33 finance survey; data as of June 2026. https://plainschools.com/schools/washington-middle-ca
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