Enrollment
601
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 061668002100
Bud Carson Middle — Hawthorne, CA
Federal NCES profile for Bud Carson Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 18/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 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: Hawthorne · 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)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
25.1:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
+9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bud Carson Middle 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
Bud Carson Middle reports 601 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 25.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% 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 58% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 60.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 9% above the California average and 17% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 601 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 46.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hawthorne spends $19,696 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 14.4% from local sources (property taxes), 71.7% from the state, and 13.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (F), calculated from 4 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 Bud Carson Middle 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 | 25.1:1 | ▲ 16% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.5% | ▲ 9% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 601 | top 68% | — | — |
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
60.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 9% 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
25.1:1
students per teacher
— 16% above state mean
Top 83% in California — lower ratio than 17% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
46.1%
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
$19,696
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 601 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 108 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 601 Top 68% in California — larger than 32% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 25.1:1 +16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 60.5% +9% vs state
NCES ID 061668002100
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 63.6%
African American 30.6%
Two or More 2.3%
Asian 1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.2%
White 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 63.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 601:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 46.1%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 108
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hawthorne, which includes Bud Carson Middle.
$19,696
Per student
+9%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 14.4%
State 71.7%
Federal 13.9%
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
- 843
- Students per teacher
- 26.4:1
- Enrollment
- 767
- Students per teacher
- 25:1
- Enrollment
- 761
- Students per teacher
- 24:1
- Enrollment
- 709
- Students per teacher
- 27.5:1
- Enrollment
- 674
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
Similar middle schools in Hawthorne
3 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Bud Carson Middle
How many students attend Bud Carson Middle?
Bud Carson Middle has 601 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Hawthorne, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bud Carson Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Bud Carson Middle is 25.1:1, which is 16% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 58% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bud Carson Middle?
60.5% of students at Bud Carson Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bud Carson Middle?
The largest demographic group at Bud Carson Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 63.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Hawthorne, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bud Carson Middle?
Bud Carson Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.