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. District totals are aggregated directly from the schools reporting under this district in the source records. See our
editorial standards & corrections policy, the
methodology behind these numbers, or
report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
Apple Valley, California - 14 schools
An equity score of 40/100 ranks Apple Valley Unified #1005 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,440 per pupil, Apple Valley Unified ranks #1657 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
13,603
Total Enrollment
14
Schools
$11,440
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Apple Valley Unified operates 14 public schools serving 13,603 students, placing it among the smaller districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 11 elementary, 2 high, 1 combined schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in San Bernardino County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,440 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 13.5% local, 72.2% state, and 14.3% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 40/100, ranked #1005 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 2 of 14 schools offering Advanced Placement (36 AP courses district-wide), a 820.6:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 61.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 63.3% Hispanic or Latino, 23.9% White, 7.0% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Rio Vista School of Applied Learning, with a diversity index of 58.6/100.
Its largest campus is Apple Valley High, enrolling 2,211 students (16% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Apple Valley Virtual Academy, at 173 students, a 13x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Apple Valley High accounts for 16.2% of all Apple Valley Unified student enrollment
That concentration means Apple Valley Unified-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Apple Valley Unified school enrollment varies 13× across entities
Apple Valley Unified school enrollment ranges from 173 students (lowest) to 2,211 students (highest), a spread of 2,038 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Apple Valley Unified has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 66.7% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Eligibility here is approaching the 75% concentration-grant threshold; it does not yet unlock the extra funding tier but sits meaningfully above the baseline 50% majority mark. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Apple Valley Unified student-counselor ratio is 821:1 — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Apple Valley Unified chronic absenteeism rate is 61.5% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Apple Valley Unified has 14 schools, including 2 high, 11 elementary, 1 combined. Total enrollment is 13,603 students.
How much does Apple Valley Unified spend per student?
Apple Valley Unified spends $11,440 per student. The district has an equity score of 40/100, ranking #1005 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Apple Valley Unified?
Apple Valley Unified students are 63.3% Hispanic or Latino, 23.9% White, 7.0% African American, 1.5% Asian, averaged across 14 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Apple Valley Unified?
Apple Valley Unified has an equity score of 40/100, ranking #1005 out of 1517 districts in California.