Enrollment
633
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060636000553
Buena Park Middle — Buena Park, CA
Federal NCES profile for Buena Park Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 25/100.
👥 Class size 26
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 3
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: Buena Park Elementary · 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)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
74.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
+35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buena Park 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
Buena Park Middle reports 633 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 38.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 17% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 74.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% above the California average and 45% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 633 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 38.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Buena Park Elementary spends $19,867 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 37.2% from local sources (property taxes), 51.5% from the state, and 11.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (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 Buena Park 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 | 18.6:1 | ▼ 14% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 74.9% | ▲ 35% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 633 | top 71% | — | — |
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
74.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% 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
18.6:1
students per teacher
— 14% below state mean
Top 20% in California — lower ratio than 80% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
38.9%
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
$19,867
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 633 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 56 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 633 Top 71% in California — larger than 29% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 38.0
Students per teacher 18.6:1 -14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 74.9% +35% vs state
NCES ID 060636000553
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 79.1%
Asian 9.8%
African American 4.4%
White 4.3%
Two or More 2.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 79.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 633:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 38.9%
In-school suspensions 19
Out-of-school suspensions 56
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Buena Park Elementary, which includes Buena Park Middle.
$19,867
Per student
+10%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 37.2%
State 51.5%
Federal 11.3%
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
- 646
- Students per teacher
- 26.3:1
- Enrollment
- 641
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 559
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 490
- Students per teacher
- 24.2:1
- Enrollment
- 365
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
Similar middle schools in Buena Park
1 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 Buena Park Middle
How many students attend Buena Park Middle?
Buena Park Middle has 633 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Buena Park, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buena Park Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Buena Park Middle is 18.6:1, which is 14% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 17% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buena Park Middle?
74.9% of students at Buena Park Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buena Park Middle?
The largest demographic group at Buena Park Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 79.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Buena Park, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buena Park Middle?
Buena Park Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 25/100 (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.