Enrollment
477
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 060462000424
Mary Farmar Elementary — Benicia, CA
Federal NCES profile for Mary Farmar Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 21/100.
👥 Class size 7
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 45
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: Benicia Unified · 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)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.3:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
-61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mary Farmar 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
Mary Farmar Elementary reports 477 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 18.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 47% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 21.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% below the California average and 59% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 1908 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Benicia Unified spends $15,252 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.2% from local sources (property taxes), 54.6% from the state, and 6.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 21/100 (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 Mary Farmar 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 | 23.3:1 | ▲ 8% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.4% | ▼ 61% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 477 | top 51% | — | — |
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
21.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% 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
23.3:1
students per teacher
— 8% above state mean
Top 65% in California — lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
21.8%
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
$15,252
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
Counselors0.3 FTE
Per 1908 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 477 Top 51% in California — larger than 49% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 18.0
Students per teacher 23.3:1 +8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 21.4% -61% vs state
NCES ID 060462000424
Student demographics
White 41.9%
Hispanic or Latino 29.4%
Two or More 16.6%
Asian 6.9%
African American 4.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.8%
Largest group: White at 41.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.3
Students per counselor 1908:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.8%
In-school suspensions 6
Out-of-school suspensions 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Benicia Unified, which includes Mary Farmar Elementary.
$15,252
Per student
-15%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.2%
State 54.6%
Federal 6.2%
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
- 1,335
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 947
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
- Enrollment
- 530
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
- Enrollment
- 529
- Students per teacher
- 24.2:1
- Enrollment
- 480
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Benicia
3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Mary Farmar Elementary
How many students attend Mary Farmar Elementary?
Mary Farmar Elementary has 477 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Benicia, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mary Farmar Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Mary Farmar Elementary is 23.3:1, which is 8% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 47% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mary Farmar Elementary?
21.4% of students at Mary Farmar Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mary Farmar Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Mary Farmar Elementary is White at 41.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Benicia, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mary Farmar Elementary?
Mary Farmar Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 21/100 (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.