Enrollment
2,088
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 062271002844
Bell Senior High — Bell, CA
Federal NCES profile for Bell Senior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 12
📚 AP courses 95
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Los Angeles Unified · California
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
107.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
90.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
+63% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bell Senior High compares with California and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Bell Senior High reports 2,088 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 107.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 38% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 90.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 63% above the California average and 75% above the national baseline. The school offers 19 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 232 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 45.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Los Angeles Unified spends $25,877 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 26.3% from local sources (property taxes), 54.5% from the state, and 19.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Bell Senior High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against California state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22:1 | ▲ 2% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 90.4% | ▲ 63% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,088 | top 97% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
90.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 63% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
22:1
students per teacher
— 2% above state mean
Top 50% in California — lower ratio than 50% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
45.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$25,877
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors9.0 FTE
Per 232 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 2,088 Top 97% in California — larger than 3% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 107.0
Students per teacher 22:1 +2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 90.4% +63% vs state
NCES ID 062271002844
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 93.6%
White 5.0%
Two or More 0.7%
African American 0.3%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 93.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 19
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 9.0
Students per counselor 232:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 45.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Los Angeles Unified, which includes Bell Senior High.
$25,877
Per student
+43%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 26.3%
State 54.5%
Federal 19.2%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,719
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,444
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,422
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,398
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,293
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Bell Senior High
How many students attend Bell Senior High?
Bell Senior High has 2,088 students enrolled. It is a high school in Bell, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bell Senior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Bell Senior High is 22:1, which is 2% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 38% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bell Senior High?
90.4% of students at Bell Senior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bell Senior High?
The largest demographic group at Bell Senior High is Hispanic or Latino at 93.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bell, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bell Senior High?
Bell Senior High has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.