Enrollment
762
California · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Avenal, CA
Avenal High
Federal NCES profile for Avenal High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 20/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 063227007335
👥 S:T ratio 0
📚 AP courses 5
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 14
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Avenal High earns 20/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of California schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.
- #4 of 6
- public schools in Avenal · Resource Index
- 20
- Resource Index · Lower
- 26.3:1
- large classes for California
- 85.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Avenal High has class sizes larger than 86% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Avenal High ranks #4 of 6 public schools in Avenal, CA.
School address
District: Reef-Sunset Unified · California
NCES ID 063227007335 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
26.3:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
85.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
+54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Avenal High compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Avenal High
Avenal High is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Avenal, California, enrolling 762 students.
Class loads run heavy: 26.3:1 is larger than about 86% of California schools and 22% above the 21.5:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need is high: 85.5% of students qualify for free meals, 54% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 762 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 1,379 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #769.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 4/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 1 Advanced Placement course.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 254 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 20.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Avenal's high schools, it stands alongside Sunrise High (Continuation) (14 students): Avenal High is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (26.3:1 vs 14:1).
Reef-Sunset Unified also operates Avenal Elementary (654 students) and Reef Sunset Middle (554 students) alongside Avenal High.
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 Avenal High compares
Avenal High on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 26.3:1 | ▲ 22% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 85.5% | ▲ 54% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 762 | top 19% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
26.3:1
Leaner classes than 4% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
762
Bigger than 84% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
85.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 54% 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
26.3:1
students per teacher
- 22% above state mean
Top 86% in California - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
34.5%
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
$15,964
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 254 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 76 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.4 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 97.8%
White 1.6%
African American 0.3%
Asian 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 4.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 4.3, Avenal High is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Reef-Sunset Unified, which includes Avenal High.
$15,964
Per student
-3%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 9.3%
State 70.6%
Federal 20.0%
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 Avenal High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avenal Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Reef Sunset Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Tamarack Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Kettleman City Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Sunrise High (Continuation) | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Avenal High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 654
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 554
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Resource Index
- 11/100
- Enrollment
- 433
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Resource Index
- 15/100
- Enrollment
- 239
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
- Enrollment
- 14
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
Similar high schools in Avenal
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Similar high 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.
Similar enrollment (~762 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~26.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Avenal High's federal record.
- Compare Avenal High against another school. Compare schools
- Reef-Sunset Unified's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Avenal High
How many students attend Avenal High?
Avenal High has 762 students enrolled. It is a high school in Avenal, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Avenal High?
The student-teacher ratio at Avenal High is 26.3:1, which is 22% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 68% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Avenal High?
85.5% of students at Avenal High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Avenal High?
The largest demographic group at Avenal High is Hispanic or Latino at 97.8% of enrollment, in Avenal, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Avenal High?
Avenal High has a Resource Investment Index of 20/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Avenal High rank among public schools in Avenal?
By Resource Investment Index, Avenal High ranks #4 of 6 public schools in Avenal, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Avenal on the city page.
Is Avenal High a good school?
Avenal High earns 20/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of California schools. 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 Reef-Sunset Unified?
Besides Avenal High, Reef-Sunset Unified also operates Avenal Elementary (654 students), Reef Sunset Middle (554 students), and Tamarack Elementary (433 students). See the Reef-Sunset Unified district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.