Enrollment
639
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060162000007
Carmenita Middle — Cerritos, CA
Federal NCES profile for Carmenita Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 50/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 81
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: Abc 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)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
26.1:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Carmenita 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
Carmenita Middle reports 639 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 23.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 26.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 21% 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 64% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 27.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 51% below the California average and 47% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 7.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Abc Unified spends $18,320 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.1% from local sources (property taxes), 68.2% from the state, and 9.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-), calculated from 3 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 Carmenita 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 | 26.1:1 | ▲ 21% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.3% | ▼ 51% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 639 | top 72% | — | — |
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
27.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 51% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
26.1:1
students per teacher
— 21% above state mean
Top 90% in California — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
7.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$18,320
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 639 Top 72% in California — larger than 28% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 23.0
Students per teacher 26.1:1 +21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 27.3% -51% vs state
NCES ID 060162000007
Student demographics
Asian 56.2%
Hispanic or Latino 28.3%
White 5.8%
African American 5.5%
Two or More 4.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: Asian at 56.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 7.5%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Abc Unified, which includes Carmenita Middle.
$18,320
Per student
+2%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.1%
State 68.2%
Federal 9.7%
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
- 1,996
- Students per teacher
- 24.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,631
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,384
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,024
- Students per teacher
- 25.9:1
- Enrollment
- 774
- Students per teacher
- 27.3:1
Similar middle schools in Cerritos
2 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 Carmenita Middle
How many students attend Carmenita Middle?
Carmenita Middle has 639 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Cerritos, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Carmenita Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Carmenita Middle is 26.1:1, which is 21% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 64% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Carmenita Middle?
27.3% of students at Carmenita Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Carmenita Middle?
The largest demographic group at Carmenita Middle is Asian at 56.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cerritos, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Carmenita Middle?
Carmenita Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (C-) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.