Elementary school (grades K-5) · Berkeley, CA

John Muir Elementary

Federal NCES profile for John Muir Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060474008119
0/100100/10032/100
👥 S:T ratio
16
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

John Muir Elementary earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#11 of 12
elementary schools in Berkeley · Resource Index
32
Resource Index · Typical
20.9:1
students per teacher
28.5%
free-lunch eligible

John Muir Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, John Muir Elementary ranks #11 of 12 elementary schools in Berkeley, CA.

School address

Enrollment

293

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

14.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

20.9:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-3% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

28.5%

vs 55.5% California avg

-49% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How John Muir Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at John Muir Elementary

John Muir Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Berkeley, California, enrolling 293 students.

At 20.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the California median, within a few percentage points of the 21.5:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 28.5% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 293 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 592 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #310.

Its student body is led by White (51%) and Two or More (17%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 68/100).

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

The surrounding Berkeley Unified spends $21,454 per pupil, 30% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.

Among Berkeley's elementary schools, it stands alongside Malcolm X Elementary (469 students): John Muir Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (20.9:1 vs 17.4:1).

Berkeley Unified also operates Berkeley High (3,218 students) and Martin Luther King Middle (851 students) alongside John Muir Elementary.

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 John Muir Elementary compares

John Muir Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs California California avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 20.9:1 ▼ 3% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 28.5% ▼ 49% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 293 top 75% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

20.9:1
Leaner classes than 13% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
293
Bigger than 31% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
28.5%
free-lunch eligible - 49% 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
20.9:1
students per teacher - 3% below state mean
Top 42% in California - lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
20.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$21,454
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
Counselors0.0 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

White 50.7%
Two or More 16.8%
Hispanic or Latino 12.0%
Asian 11.3%
African American 9.2%

Largest group: White at 50.7% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 67.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 67.9, John Muir Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Berkeley Unified, which includes John Muir Elementary.

$21,454
Per student
+30%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 64.6%
State 29.0%
Federal 6.4%

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 John Muir Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Berkeley High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Martin Luther King Middle Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Willard Middle Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Malcolm X Elementary Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Longfellow Arts and Technology Middle Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to John Muir Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Berkeley Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Berkeley

6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on John Muir Elementary's federal record.

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 John Muir Elementary

How many students attend John Muir Elementary?

John Muir Elementary has 293 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Berkeley, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at John Muir Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at John Muir Elementary is 20.9:1, which is 3% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 33% higher than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at John Muir Elementary?

28.5% of students at John Muir Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of John Muir Elementary?

The largest demographic group at John Muir Elementary is White at 50.7% of enrollment, in Berkeley, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 67.9/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for John Muir Elementary?

John Muir Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does John Muir Elementary rank among elementary schools in Berkeley?

By Resource Investment Index, John Muir Elementary ranks #11 of 12 elementary schools in Berkeley, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Berkeley on the city page.

Is John Muir Elementary a good school?

John Muir Elementary earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools. 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 Berkeley Unified?

Besides John Muir Elementary, Berkeley Unified also operates Berkeley High (3,218 students), Martin Luther King Middle (851 students), and Willard Middle (596 students). See the Berkeley Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.