Enrollment
1,704
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 062466008741
Buhach Colony High — Atwater, CA
Federal NCES profile for Buhach Colony High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 17
📚 AP courses 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 15
📋 Attendance 12
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: Merced Union High · 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)
84.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
61.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buhach Colony 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
Buhach Colony High reports 1,704 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 84.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% 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 31% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 61.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 10% above the California average and 18% above the national baseline. The school offers 13 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 426 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 35.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Merced Union High spends $17,670 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 19.9% from local sources (property taxes), 67.1% from the state, and 13.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F), 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 Buhach Colony 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 | 20.8:1 | ▼ 4% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 61.2% | ▲ 10% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,704 | top 95% | — | — |
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
61.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 10% 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
20.8:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 37% in California — lower ratio than 63% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
35.2%
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
$17,670
per pupil, district-wide
— below California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 426 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 41 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,704 Top 95% in California — larger than 5% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 84.0
Students per teacher 20.8:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 61.2% +10% vs state
NCES ID 062466008741
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 69.7%
White 15.3%
Asian 9.9%
African American 2.1%
Two or More 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 69.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 426:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 35.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 41
Expulsions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Merced Union High, which includes Buhach Colony High.
$17,670
Per student
-2%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 19.9%
State 67.1%
Federal 13.0%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,029
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,943
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,917
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 1,793
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,169
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
Similar high schools in Atwater
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Buhach Colony High
How many students attend Buhach Colony High?
Buhach Colony High has 1,704 students enrolled. It is a high school in Atwater, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buhach Colony High?
The student-teacher ratio at Buhach Colony High is 20.8:1, which is 4% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 31% 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 Buhach Colony High?
61.2% of students at Buhach Colony High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buhach Colony High?
The largest demographic group at Buhach Colony High is Hispanic or Latino at 69.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Atwater, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buhach Colony High?
Buhach Colony High has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F) 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.