Enrollment
861
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060837000814
Chico Junior High — Chico, CA
Federal NCES profile for Chico Junior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 2
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 15
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: Chico 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)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.4:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
51.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
-8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Chico Junior 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
Chico Junior High reports 861 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 38.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 53% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 51.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 8% below the California average and 2% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 287 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 33.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Chico Unified spends $17,486 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.8% from local sources (property taxes), 51.0% from the state, and 13.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Chico Junior 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 | 24.4:1 | ▲ 13% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 51.0% | ▼ 8% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 861 | top 85% | — | — |
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
51.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 8% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
24.4:1
students per teacher
— 13% above state mean
Top 77% in California — lower ratio than 23% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
33.9%
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
$17,486
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 287 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 41 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 11 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 861 Top 85% in California — larger than 15% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 38.0
Students per teacher 24.4:1 +13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 51.0% -8% vs state
NCES ID 060837000814
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 39.6%
White 39.1%
Two or More 11.7%
Asian 5.0%
African American 2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 39.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 287:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 33.9%
In-school suspensions 11
Out-of-school suspensions 41
Expulsions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Chico Unified, which includes Chico Junior High.
$17,486
Per student
-3%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.8%
State 51.0%
Federal 13.3%
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
- 1,978
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,804
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,012
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Enrollment
- 716
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 621
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
Similar middle schools in Chico
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 Chico Junior High
How many students attend Chico Junior High?
Chico Junior High has 861 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Chico, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Chico Junior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Chico Junior High is 24.4:1, which is 13% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 53% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Chico Junior High?
51.0% of students at Chico Junior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Chico Junior High?
The largest demographic group at Chico Junior High is Hispanic or Latino at 39.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Chico, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Chico Junior High?
Chico Junior High has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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.