Enrollment
405
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060210000092
Joan Macqueen Middle — Alpine, CA
Federal NCES profile for Joan Macqueen Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 27/100.
👥 Class size 24
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 27
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 →
The verdict
Joan Macqueen Middle earns an F Resource Investment Index (27/100), even as it posts class sizes smaller than 78% of California schools.
- F
- Resource Index · 27/100
- 19:1
- small classes for California
- 31.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 405
- students enrolled
School address
District: Alpine Union Elementary · 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)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
31.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Joan Macqueen 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
Joan Macqueen Middle reports 405 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 21.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% 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 19% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 31.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 44% below the California average and 40% below the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Alpine Union Elementary spends $14,073 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 49.9% from local sources (property taxes), 42.6% from the state, and 7.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F), 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 Joan Macqueen 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 | 19:1 | ▼ 12% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 31.3% | ▼ 44% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 405 | top 40% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
19 smaller classes than 20% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
405 larger than 48% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
31.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 44% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19:1
students per teacher
— 12% below state mean
Top 22% in California — lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.1%
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
$14,073
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 27 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 405 Top 40% in California — larger than 60% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 21.0
Students per teacher 19:1 -12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 31.3% -44% vs state
NCES ID 060210000092
Student demographics
White 50.9%
Hispanic or Latino 31.2%
Two or More 11.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.5%
Asian 1.7%
African American 1.0%
Largest group: White at 50.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 27
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alpine Union Elementary, which includes Joan Macqueen Middle.
$14,073
Per student
-22%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 49.9%
State 42.6%
Federal 7.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 377
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
- Enrollment
- 367
- Students per teacher
- 25.8:1
- Enrollment
- 227
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
- Enrollment
- 64
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
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 Joan Macqueen Middle
How many students attend Joan Macqueen Middle?
Joan Macqueen Middle has 405 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Alpine, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Joan Macqueen Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Joan Macqueen Middle is 19:1, which is 12% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 19% 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 Joan Macqueen Middle?
31.3% of students at Joan Macqueen Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Joan Macqueen Middle?
The largest demographic group at Joan Macqueen Middle is White at 50.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Alpine, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Joan Macqueen Middle?
Joan Macqueen Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F) 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.