Enrollment
4
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Shoshone, CA
Death Valley High Academy
Federal NCES profile for Death Valley High Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 70/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 061068007096
👥 S:T ratio 84
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 95
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Death Valley High Academy earns 70/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.
- 70
- Resource Index · Higher
- 4:1
- small classes for California
- 4
- students enrolled
Death Valley High Academy has class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Death Valley Unified · California
NCES ID 061068007096 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
1.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
4:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-81% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Death Valley High Academy compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Death Valley High Academy
Death Valley High Academy is a small combined-grade school in Shoshone, California, enrolling 4 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 4:1, Death Valley High Academy is leaner than roughly 99% of California schools and 81% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 99% of California schools, with 4 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 99% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (50%) and White (25%) (diversity index 63/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 27 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
The surrounding Death Valley Unified spends $56,357 per pupil, 241% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 15.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Death Valley Unified also operates Shoshone Elementary (17 students) and Shoshone High (Continuation) (2 students) alongside Death Valley High Academy.
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 Death Valley High Academy compares
Death Valley High Academy on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 4:1 | ▼ 81% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 4 | top 99% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
4:1
Leaner classes than 99% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
4
Bigger than 1% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
4:1
students per teacher
- 81% below state mean
Top 1% in California - lower ratio than 99% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$56,357
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.2 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
Hispanic or Latino 50.0%
White 25.0%
Two or More 25.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 50.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 62.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 62.5, Death Valley High Academy is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Death Valley Unified, which includes Death Valley High Academy.
$56,357
Per student
+241%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+240%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 56.7%
State 28.0%
Federal 15.3%
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.
How Death Valley High Academy Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shoshone Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Shoshone High (Continuation) | Smaller | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Death Valley High Academy's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 17
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 2
- Students per teacher
- -
Similar other 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 (~4 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Death Valley High Academy's federal record.
- Compare Death Valley High Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Death Valley Unified'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 Death Valley High Academy
How many students attend Death Valley High Academy?
Death Valley High Academy has 4 students enrolled. It is a public school in Shoshone, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Death Valley High Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Death Valley High Academy is 4:1, which is 81% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 75% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Death Valley High Academy?
The largest demographic group at Death Valley High Academy is Hispanic or Latino at 50.0% of enrollment, in Shoshone, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 62.5/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Death Valley High Academy?
Death Valley High Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 70/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Death Valley High Academy a good school?
Death Valley High Academy earns 70/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 99% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. 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 Death Valley Unified?
Besides Death Valley High Academy, Death Valley Unified also operates Shoshone Elementary (17 students) and Shoshone High (Continuation) (2 students). See the Death Valley Unified 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.