Enrollment
259
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cardiff-By-the-Sea, CA
Cardiff Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Cardiff Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060747000707
👥 S:T ratio 20
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 50
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cardiff Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 19.9:1
- students per teacher
- 10.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 259
- students enrolled
Cardiff Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Cardiff Elementary · California
NCES ID 060747000707 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
13.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.9:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
10.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
-82% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cardiff Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cardiff Elementary
Cardiff Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Cardiff-By-the-Sea, California, enrolling 259 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 19.9:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 10.2% free-meal eligibility runs 82% below the California average.
Enrollment of 259 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 216 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #131.
Its student body is led by White (67%) and Two or More (17%) (diversity index 50/100).
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.1% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district, Cardiff Elementary, also runs Ada W. Harris Elementary (382 students).
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 Cardiff Elementary compares
Cardiff Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.9:1 | ▼ 7% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 10.2% | ▼ 82% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 259 | top 78% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.9:1
Leaner classes than 16% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
259
Bigger than 27% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
10.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 82% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.9:1
students per teacher
- 7% below state mean
Top 34% in California - lower ratio than 66% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
20.1%
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
$19,564
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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
White 67.1%
Two or More 17.1%
Hispanic or Latino 13.6%
Asian 1.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: White at 67.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 50.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 50.2, Cardiff Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cardiff Elementary, which includes Cardiff Elementary.
$19,564
Per student
+19%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+18%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 82.0%
State 12.5%
Federal 5.5%
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 Cardiff Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada W. Harris Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cardiff Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 382
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
Similar elementary 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 (~259 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cardiff Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Cardiff Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Cardiff Elementary'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 Cardiff Elementary
How many students attend Cardiff Elementary?
Cardiff Elementary has 259 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cardiff-By-the-Sea, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cardiff Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Cardiff Elementary is 19.9:1, which is 7% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 27% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cardiff Elementary?
10.2% of students at Cardiff Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cardiff Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Cardiff Elementary is White at 67.1% of enrollment, in Cardiff-By-the-Sea, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 50.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cardiff Elementary?
Cardiff Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Cardiff Elementary a good school?
Cardiff Elementary earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Cardiff Elementary?
Besides Cardiff Elementary, Cardiff Elementary also operates Ada W. Harris Elementary (382 students). See the Cardiff Elementary 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.