Enrollment
603
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 061035005511
Golden Valley Elementary — Orosi, CA
Federal NCES profile for Golden Valley Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 18/100.
👥 Class size 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 4
📋 Attendance 25
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: Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified · 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)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.3:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
85.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
+55% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Golden Valley Elementary 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
Golden Valley Elementary reports 603 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% 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% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 85.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 55% above the California average and 66% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 482 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified spends $21,692 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 8.4% from local sources (property taxes), 70.9% from the state, and 20.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (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 Golden Valley Elementary 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 | 21.3:1 | ▼ 1% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 85.9% | ▲ 55% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 603 | top 68% | — | — |
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
85.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 55% 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
21.3:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 42% in California — lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
29.9%
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
$21,692
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
Counselors1.3 FTE
Per 482 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 603 Top 68% in California — larger than 32% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 21.3:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 85.9% +55% vs state
NCES ID 061035005511
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 93.7%
Asian 5.1%
White 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 93.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.3
Students per counselor 482:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.9%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 14
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cutler-Orosi Joint Unified, which includes Golden Valley Elementary.
$21,692
Per student
+20%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+11%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 8.4%
State 70.9%
Federal 20.7%
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
- 1,108
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 844
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 607
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 573
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 54
- Students per teacher
- 11.4:1
Similar elementary schools in Orosi
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Golden Valley Elementary
How many students attend Golden Valley Elementary?
Golden Valley Elementary has 603 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Orosi, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Golden Valley Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Golden Valley Elementary is 21.3:1, which is 1% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 34% 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 Golden Valley Elementary?
85.9% of students at Golden Valley Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Golden Valley Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Golden Valley Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 93.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Orosi, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Golden Valley Elementary?
Golden Valley Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.