NCES CCD 2024-25 9 schools CA

Best-Resourced Schools in Pacifica, CA

Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools. · Updated July 2026

9 public K-12 schools in Pacifica from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

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Schools

3,851

Students

35.2/100

Avg Resource Index

18.5:1

Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Lean reported-resource profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Pacifica has more public-school enrollment than 42% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Pacifica's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.

The school portfolio is elementary-weighted

6 of Pacifica's 9 listed schools are elementary campuses. That composition means citywide enrollment and staffing averages are influenced more by early-grade operating patterns than by the city's 1 middle and 2 high-school records. Families comparing later grades should rely on those individual rows rather than the all-school mean.

A small portfolio contains radically different campus scales

Pacifica lists only 9 schools, yet reported enrollment runs from 12 to 740 students, a 62-fold range. In a portfolio this compact, the smallest record may be a specialized or nonstandard setting rather than a miniature version of the largest campus. That distinction affects how ratios and program fields should be read. Compare similarly configured grade levels first; combining the extremes into one city average conceals more than it explains.

City enrollment: Top 58%
School count: Top 46%
Resource Index average: 26th percentile
Teacher staffing: 22nd percentile

Terra Nova High accounts for 19.2% of all Pacifica public-school enrollment

That concentration means Pacifica-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: High. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data Accessed 2026-07-30

Pacifica school enrollment varies 62× across entities

Pacifica school enrollment ranges from 12 students (lowest) to 740 students (highest), a spread of 728 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data NCES Common Core of Data Accessed 2026-07-30

Pacifica student-teacher ratio is 18.5:1 — high (typically associated with larger urban scale or staffing constraints that have widened the headcount gap)

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe Accessed 2026-07-30

#	School	Score	Enrollment	Level	District
1.	Pacifica Independent Home Study	53	12	elementary	Pacifica
2.	Oceana High	47	471	high	Jefferson Union High
3.	Terra Nova High	40	740	high	Jefferson Union High
4.	Ingrid B. Lacy Middle	35	484	middle	Pacifica
5.	Ocean Shore Elementary	34	368	elementary	Pacifica
6.	Vallemar Elementary	33	500	elementary	Pacifica
7.	Ortega Elementary	31	404	elementary	Pacifica
8.	Cabrillo Elementary	24	524	elementary	Pacifica
9.	Sunset Ridge Elementary	20	348	elementary	Pacifica

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Pacifica

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

What do families ask about schools in Pacifica?

Which Pacifica school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Pacifica Independent Home Study has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Pacifica schools in this federal-data comparison at 53/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Pacifica, CA? ▼

Pacifica has 9 public schools with a total enrollment of 3,851 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 18.5:1.

Other Cities in California

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in California →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.