Enrollment
425
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 062400003610
Mark West Elementary — Santa Rosa, CA
Federal NCES profile for Mark West Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 29/100.
👥 Class size 20
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 15
📋 Attendance 52
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: Mark West 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)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
37.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-32% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mark West 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
Mark West Elementary reports 425 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 20.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% 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 25% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 37.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 32% below the California average and 28% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 425 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mark West Union Elementary spends $16,227 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 51.3% from local sources (property taxes), 42.3% from the state, and 6.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (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 Mark West 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 | 19.9:1 | ▼ 8% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 37.5% | ▼ 32% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 425 | top 43% | — | — |
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
37.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 32% 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
19.9:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 29% in California — lower ratio than 71% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$16,227
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 425 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 425 Top 43% in California — larger than 57% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 20.0
Students per teacher 19.9:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 37.5% -32% vs state
NCES ID 062400003610
Student demographics
White 45.4%
Hispanic or Latino 42.8%
Two or More 5.9%
Asian 4.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
African American 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 45.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 425:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.1%
In-school suspensions 11
Out-of-school suspensions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mark West Union Elementary, which includes Mark West Elementary.
$16,227
Per student
-10%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 51.3%
State 42.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 411
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Enrollment
- 401
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 124
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
Similar elementary schools in Santa Rosa
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Cesar Chavez Language Academy
Standard public school
773 students 20.8:1 students per teacher
Oak Grove Elementary/Willowside Middle
Standard public school
708 students 22.5:1 students per teacher
Sheppard Elementary
Standard public school
577 students 23.9:1 students per teacher
Mattie Washburn Elementary
Standard public school
535 students 19:1 students per teacher
Roseland Creek Elementary
Standard public school
534 students 21:1 students per teacher
Santa Rosa French-American Charter (Srfacs)
Standard public school
525 students 19.8:1 students per teacher
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 Mark West Elementary
How many students attend Mark West Elementary?
Mark West Elementary has 425 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Santa Rosa, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mark West Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Mark West Elementary is 19.9:1, which is 8% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 25% 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 Mark West Elementary?
37.5% of students at Mark West Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mark West Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Mark West Elementary is White at 45.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Rosa, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mark West Elementary?
Mark West Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (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.