Middle school (grades 6-8) · San Diego, CA

Clark Middle

Federal NCES profile for Clark Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 18/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 063432007316
0/100100/10018/100
👥 S:T ratio
10
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
30
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Clark Middle earns 18/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#34 of 37
middle schools in San Diego · Resource Index
18
Resource Index · Lower
22.5:1
students per teacher
83.4%
free-lunch eligible

Clark Middle has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Clark Middle ranks #34 of 37 middle schools in San Diego, CA.

School address

Enrollment

696

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

31.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

22.5:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+5% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

83.4%

vs 55.5% California avg

+50% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Clark Middle compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Clark Middle

Clark Middle is a high-poverty, mid-sized middle school in San Diego, California, enrolling 696 students.

At 22.5:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need is high: 83.4% of students qualify for free meals, 50% above the California average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.

Enrollment of 696 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Among 1,712 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #1,256, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (75%) and Asian (11%) (diversity index 42/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 348 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 46.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The federal civil-rights collection also records 6 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among San Diego's middle schools, it stands alongside Oak Valley Middle (1,503 students): Clark Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (22.5:1 vs 24.6:1).

San Diego Unified also operates Henry High (2,485 students) and Mira Mesa High (2,187 students) alongside Clark Middle.

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 Clark Middle compares

Clark Middle on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 22.5:1 ▲ 5% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 83.4% ▲ 50% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 696 top 24% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

22.5:1
Leaner classes than 9% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
696
Bigger than 80% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
83.4%
free-lunch eligible - 50% above the California average of 55.5%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
22.5:1
students per teacher - 5% above state mean
Top 58% in California - lower ratio than 42% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
46.3%
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
$18,665
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 348 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 77 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 6 expulsions.

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

Hispanic or Latino 75.0%
Asian 10.6%
African American 8.9%
White 2.3%
Two or More 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 41.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 41.7, Clark Middle is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Diego Unified, which includes Clark Middle.

$18,665
Per student
+13%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+12%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 60.5%
State 25.1%
Federal 14.4%

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 Clark Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Henry High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Mira Mesa High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hoover High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Scripps Ranch High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Point Loma High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Clark Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

San Diego Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in San Diego

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Clark Middle's federal record.

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 Clark Middle

How many students attend Clark Middle?

Clark Middle has 696 students enrolled. It is a middle school in San Diego, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Clark Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Clark Middle is 22.5:1, which is 5% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 43% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Clark Middle?

83.4% of students at Clark Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Clark Middle?

The largest demographic group at Clark Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 75.0% of enrollment, in San Diego, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Clark Middle?

Clark Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Clark Middle rank among middle schools in San Diego?

By Resource Investment Index, Clark Middle ranks #34 of 37 middle schools in San Diego, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in San Diego on the city page.

Is Clark Middle a good school?

Clark Middle earns 18/100 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 San Diego Unified?

Besides Clark Middle, San Diego Unified also operates Henry High (2,485 students), Mira Mesa High (2,187 students), and Hoover High (2,011 students). See the San Diego Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.