Elementary school (grades K-5) · Merced, CA

Alicia Reyes Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Alicia Reyes Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 10/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062460009581
0/100100/10010/100
👥 S:T ratio
10
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Alicia Reyes Elementary earns 10/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#16 of 19
elementary schools in Merced · Resource Index
10
Resource Index · Lower
22.5:1
students per teacher
83.1%
free-lunch eligible

Alicia Reyes Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Alicia Reyes Elementary ranks #16 of 19 elementary schools in Merced, CA.

Enrollment

540

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

24.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

22.5:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+5% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

83.1%

vs 55.5% California avg

+50% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Alicia Reyes Elementary 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 Alicia Reyes Elementary

Alicia Reyes Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Merced, California, enrolling 540 students.

At 22.5:1, 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: 83.1% of students qualify for free meals, 50% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

With 540 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index trails 98% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.

Among 2,005 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,883, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (92% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 16/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 540 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 56.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Merced's elementary schools, it stands alongside Pioneer Elementary (1,055 students): Alicia Reyes Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (22.5:1 vs 19.9:1).

Merced City Elementary also operates Rudolph Rivera Elementary (917 students) and Donn B. Chenoweth Elementary (722 students) alongside Alicia Reyes Elementary.

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 Alicia Reyes Elementary compares

Alicia Reyes Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 22.5:1 ▲ 5% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 83.1% ▲ 50% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 540 top 40% - -

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

22.5:1
Leaner classes than 9% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
540
Bigger than 66% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
83.1%
free-lunch eligible - 50% 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
22.5:1
students per teacher - 5% above state mean
Top 58% in California - lower ratio than 42% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
56.9%
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
$13,984
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 540 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 21 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.9 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 91.7%
Asian 3.0%
African American 2.4%
Two or More 1.5%
White 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 91.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 15.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 15.7, Alicia Reyes Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Merced City Elementary, which includes Alicia Reyes Elementary.

$13,984
Per student
-15%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 11.4%
State 74.4%
Federal 14.2%

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 Alicia Reyes Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Rudolph Rivera Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Donn B. Chenoweth Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Luther Burbank Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Allan Peterson Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Joe Stefani Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Alicia Reyes Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Merced City Elementary · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Merced

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary 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 Alicia Reyes Elementary'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 Alicia Reyes Elementary

How many students attend Alicia Reyes Elementary?

Alicia Reyes Elementary has 540 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Merced, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Alicia Reyes Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Alicia Reyes Elementary is 22.5:1, which is 5% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 43% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Alicia Reyes Elementary?

83.1% of students at Alicia Reyes Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alicia Reyes Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Alicia Reyes Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 91.7% of enrollment, in Merced, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Alicia Reyes Elementary?

Alicia Reyes Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 10/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Alicia Reyes Elementary rank among elementary schools in Merced?

By Resource Investment Index, Alicia Reyes Elementary ranks #16 of 19 elementary schools in Merced, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Merced on the city page.

Is Alicia Reyes Elementary a good school?

Alicia Reyes Elementary earns 10/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools. 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 Merced City Elementary?

Besides Alicia Reyes Elementary, Merced City Elementary also operates Rudolph Rivera Elementary (917 students), Donn B. Chenoweth Elementary (722 students), and Luther Burbank Elementary (716 students). See the Merced City Elementary 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.