Enrollment
660
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 060248714407 Charter school
Excel Academy Charter — Irvine, CA
Federal NCES profile for Excel Academy Charter, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 60/100.
👥 Class size 58
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 56
📋 Attendance 94
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: Excel Academy Charter District · 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)
52.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-51% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
40.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
-26% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Excel Academy Charter 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
Excel Academy Charter reports 660 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 52.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 51% 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 34% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 40.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 26% below the California average and 21% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 220 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 2.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Excel Academy Charter District spends $10,008 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 8.1% from local sources (property taxes), 83.5% from the state, and 8.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+), 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 Excel Academy Charter 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 | 10.5:1 | ▼ 51% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 40.9% | ▼ 26% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 660 | top 73% | — | — |
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
40.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 26% 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
10.5:1
students per teacher
— 51% below state mean
Top 4% in California — lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
2.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$10,008
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 220 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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
Enrollment 660 Top 73% in California — larger than 27% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 52.0
Students per teacher 10.5:1 -51% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 40.9% -26% vs state
NCES ID 060248714407
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 45.2%
White 27.6%
Asian 13.1%
Two or More 10.6%
African American 2.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 45.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 5
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 220:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 2.3%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Excel Academy Charter District, which includes Excel Academy Charter.
$10,008
Per student
-45%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-49%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 8.1%
State 83.5%
Federal 8.5%
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.
Similar other schools in Irvine
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Excel Academy Charter
How many students attend Excel Academy Charter?
Excel Academy Charter has 660 students enrolled. It is a other school in Irvine, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Excel Academy Charter?
The student-teacher ratio at Excel Academy Charter is 10.5:1, which is 51% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 34% lower 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 Excel Academy Charter?
40.9% of students at Excel Academy Charter are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Excel Academy Charter?
The largest demographic group at Excel Academy Charter is Hispanic or Latino at 45.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Irvine, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Excel Academy Charter?
Excel Academy Charter has a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.