Enrollment
697
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 063846006464
Columbia Middle — Sunnyvale, CA
Federal NCES profile for Columbia Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 73
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: Sunnyvale · 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)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
42.6%
vs 55.5% California avg
-23% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Columbia 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
Columbia Middle reports 697 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% 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 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 42.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 23% below the California average and 18% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sunnyvale spends $26,000 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 82.4% from local sources (property taxes), 12.6% from the state, and 5.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), 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 Columbia 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 | 16.3:1 | ▼ 25% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 42.6% | ▼ 23% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 697 | top 76% | — | — |
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
42.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 23% 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
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 25% below state mean
Top 11% in California — lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
10.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$26,000
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
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
39
in-school suspensions + 36 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 697 Top 76% in California — larger than 24% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 -25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 42.6% -23% vs state
NCES ID 063846006464
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 54.1%
Asian 17.6%
White 15.4%
Two or More 7.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 2.0%
African American 0.9%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 54.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.9%
In-school suspensions 39
Out-of-school suspensions 36
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sunnyvale, which includes Columbia Middle.
$26,000
Per student
+44%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 82.4%
State 12.6%
Federal 5.0%
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
- 1,053
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 768
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 622
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 586
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 465
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
Similar middle schools in Sunnyvale
3 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 Columbia Middle
How many students attend Columbia Middle?
Columbia Middle has 697 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Sunnyvale, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Columbia Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Columbia Middle is 16.3:1, which is 25% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 3% 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 Columbia Middle?
42.6% of students at Columbia Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Columbia Middle?
The largest demographic group at Columbia Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 54.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sunnyvale, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Columbia Middle?
Columbia Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) 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.