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

Longfellow Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Longfellow Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 26/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060962000989
0/100100/10026/100
👥 S:T ratio
0
🌟 Gifted program
70
📋 Attendance
7
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Longfellow Elementary earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 79% of California schools.

#9 of 20
elementary schools in Compton · Resource Index
26
Resource Index · Lower
25:1
large classes for California
66.5%
free-lunch eligible

Longfellow Elementary has class sizes larger than 79% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Longfellow Elementary ranks #9 of 20 elementary schools in Compton, CA.

School address

Enrollment

450

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

18.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

25:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+16% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

66.5%

vs 55.5% California avg

+20% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Longfellow Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Larger classes than 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 Longfellow Elementary

Longfellow Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Compton, California, enrolling 450 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 25:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 66.5% of students eligible for free meals.

With 450 students, its enrollment sits close to the California median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 1,986 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #908.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (76%) and African American (22%) (diversity index 38/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 37.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among Compton's elementary schools, it stands alongside Clinton William Jefferson (692 students): Longfellow Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (25:1 vs 23.9:1).

Compton Unified also operates Dominguez High (1,582 students) and Compton High (1,438 students) alongside Longfellow 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 Longfellow Elementary compares

Longfellow 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 25:1 ▲ 16% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 66.5% ▲ 20% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 450 top 53% - -

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

25:1
Leaner classes than 5% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
450
Bigger than 55% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
66.5%
free-lunch eligible - 20% 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
25:1
students per teacher - 16% above state mean
Top 79% in California - lower ratio than 21% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
37.3%
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
$15,270
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat 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 + 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

Hispanic or Latino 75.8%
African American 22.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.6%
White 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 75.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 37.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 37.6, Longfellow Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Compton Unified, which includes Longfellow Elementary.

$15,270
Per student
-8%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 15.5%
State 70.8%
Federal 13.8%

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 Longfellow Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Dominguez High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Compton High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Centennial High Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Clinton William Jefferson Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Kelly Elementary Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Compton Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Compton

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 Longfellow 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 Longfellow Elementary

How many students attend Longfellow Elementary?

Longfellow Elementary has 450 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Compton, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Longfellow Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Longfellow Elementary is 25:1, which is 16% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 59% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Longfellow Elementary?

66.5% of students at Longfellow Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Longfellow Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Longfellow Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 75.8% of enrollment, in Compton, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Longfellow Elementary?

Longfellow Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (lower 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 Longfellow Elementary rank among elementary schools in Compton?

By Resource Investment Index, Longfellow Elementary ranks #9 of 20 elementary schools in Compton, 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 Compton on the city page.

Is Longfellow Elementary a good school?

Longfellow Elementary earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 79% of 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 Compton Unified?

Besides Longfellow Elementary, Compton Unified also operates Dominguez High (1,582 students), Compton High (1,438 students), and Centennial High (908 students). See the Compton 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.