Enrollment
291
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 063567006082
Delta High — Santa Maria, CA
Federal NCES profile for Delta High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 12/100.
👥 Class size 9
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
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: Santa Maria Joint Union High · 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)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.7:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
76.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Delta 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
Delta High reports 291 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 15.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% 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 43% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 76.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 37% above the California average and 47% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 100.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Santa Maria Joint Union High spends $21,304 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.8% from local sources (property taxes), 59.5% from the state, and 7.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 12/100 (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 Delta 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 | 22.7:1 | ▲ 5% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 76.2% | ▲ 37% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 291 | top 25% | — | — |
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
76.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 37% above the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
22.7:1
students per teacher
— 5% above state mean
Top 57% in California — lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
100.0%
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
$21,304
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
0
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 291 Top 25% in California — larger than 75% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 15.0
Students per teacher 22.7:1 +5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 76.2% +37% vs state
NCES ID 063567006082
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 94.2%
White 3.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.0%
African American 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 94.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 100.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Maria Joint Union High, which includes Delta High.
$21,304
Per student
+18%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 32.8%
State 59.5%
Federal 7.7%
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
- 3,143
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,080
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,416
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
Similar high schools in Santa Maria
3 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Delta High
How many students attend Delta High?
Delta High has 291 students enrolled. It is a high school in Santa Maria, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Delta High?
The student-teacher ratio at Delta High is 22.7:1, which is 5% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 43% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Delta High?
76.2% of students at Delta High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Delta High?
The largest demographic group at Delta High is Hispanic or Latino at 94.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Maria, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Delta High?
Delta High has a Resource Investment Index of 12/100 (F) based on 4 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.