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Santa Ana, California - 1 schools
An equity score of 82/100 ranks Nova Academy Early College High District #72 of 1517 districts in California (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $19,275 per pupil, Nova Academy Early College High District ranks #282 of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending (California districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
308
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$19,275
Per-Pupil Spending
High
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Nova Academy Early College High District operates 1 public schools serving 308 students, placing it among the smallest districts in California. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 high schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Orange County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $19,275 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the upper half of 1862 California districts by per-pupil spending. See how California compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 20.6% local, 64.3% state, and 15.1% 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 82/100, ranked #72 of 1517 in California against a state average of 50, notably more even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 1 schools offering Advanced Placement (9 AP courses district-wide), a 144:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 34.0% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 94.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% White, 0.7% Asian across the district's schools.
Nova Academy Early College High accounts for 93.5% of all Nova Academy Early College High District student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Nova Academy Early College High District a distant remainder — means Nova Academy Early College High District-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.
Nova Academy Early College High District has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 79.5% 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). Areas above 75% eligibility — including this one — receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. 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.
Nova Academy Early College High District student-counselor ratio is 144:1 — well below typical (typically associated with unusually small scale or exceptionally high per-unit investment)
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 below typical often correlate with unusually small scale or population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se — worth checking whether the underlying denominator is itself an outlier.
Nova Academy Early College High District chronic absenteeism rate is 34.0% — high (typically associated with higher-than-average disruption; recent CRDC data showed elevated rates persisting after pandemic-era schooling changes)
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 Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Comparisons are relative to Nova Academy Early College High District's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in California
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Nova Academy Early College High District?
Nova Academy Early College High District has 1 school, including 1 high. Total enrollment is 308 students.
How much does Nova Academy Early College High District spend per student?
Nova Academy Early College High District spends $19,275 per student. The district has an equity score of 82/100, ranking #72 in California.
What is the demographic composition of Nova Academy Early College High District?
Nova Academy Early College High District students are 94.4% Hispanic or Latino, 1.4% White, 0.7% Asian, 0.3% African American, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Nova Academy Early College High District?
Nova Academy Early College High District has an equity score of 82/100, ranking #72 out of 1517 districts in California.