Elementary school (grades K-5) · South San Francisco, CA

Martin Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Martin Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 22/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063753009197
0/100100/10022/100
👥 S:T ratio
18
🌟 Gifted program
30
📋 Attendance
17
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Martin Elementary earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#4 of 6
elementary schools in South San Francisco · Resource Index
22
Resource Index · Lower
20.6:1
students per teacher
54.0%
free-lunch eligible

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

By Resource Investment Index, Martin Elementary ranks #4 of 6 elementary schools in South San Francisco, CA.

Enrollment

370

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

18.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

20.6:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-4% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

54.0%

vs 55.5% California avg

-3% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Martin 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 Martin Elementary

Martin Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in South San Francisco, California, enrolling 370 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 20.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 54.0% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 370 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 1,286 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #867.

Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 33.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Among South San Francisco's elementary schools, it stands alongside Buri Buri Elementary (584 students): Martin Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (20.6:1 vs 23.4:1).

South San Francisco Unified also operates South San Francisco High (1,239 students) and El Camino High (1,053 students) alongside Martin 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 Martin Elementary compares

Martin 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 20.6:1 ▼ 4% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 54.0% ▼ 3% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 370 top 65% - -

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

20.6:1
Leaner classes than 14% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
370
Bigger than 43% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
54.0%
free-lunch eligible - 3% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
20.6:1
students per teacher - 4% below state mean
Top 40% in California - lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
33.2%
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
$17,183
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 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 83.5%
Asian 5.9%
Two or More 3.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.0%
White 2.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.4%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 83.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 29.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 29.6, Martin Elementary is less mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for South San Francisco Unified, which includes Martin Elementary.

$17,183
Per student
+4%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 76.0%
State 16.7%
Federal 7.3%

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 Martin Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
South San Francisco High Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
El Camino High Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Alta Loma Middle Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Buri Buri Elementary Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Parkway Heights Middle Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

South San Francisco Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in South San Francisco

5 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 Martin 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 Martin Elementary

How many students attend Martin Elementary?

Martin Elementary has 370 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in South San Francisco, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Martin Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Martin Elementary is 20.6:1, which is 4% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 31% 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 Martin Elementary?

54.0% of students at Martin Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Martin Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Martin Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 83.5% of enrollment, in South San Francisco, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Martin Elementary?

Martin Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 22/100 (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 Martin Elementary rank among elementary schools in South San Francisco?

By Resource Investment Index, Martin Elementary ranks #4 of 6 elementary schools in South San Francisco, 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 South San Francisco on the city page.

Is Martin Elementary a good school?

Martin Elementary earns 22/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 South San Francisco Unified?

Besides Martin Elementary, South San Francisco Unified also operates South San Francisco High (1,239 students), El Camino High (1,053 students), and Alta Loma Middle (652 students). See the South San Francisco 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.