Enrollment
643
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 063680006238
Murray Middle — Ridgecrest, CA
Federal NCES profile for Murray Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 8
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 46
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: Sierra Sands 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)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
45.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Murray Middle 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
Murray Middle reports 643 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 30.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% 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 45% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 45.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% below the California average and 13% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 322 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sierra Sands Unified spends $15,594 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 17.0% from local sources (property taxes), 69.4% from the state, and 13.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D), 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 Murray Middle 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 | 23:1 | ▲ 6% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 45.1% | ▼ 19% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 643 | top 72% | — | — |
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
45.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% 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
23:1
students per teacher
— 6% above state mean
Top 61% in California — lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
21.5%
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
$15,594
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 322 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
22
in-school suspensions + 113 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 643 Top 72% in California — larger than 28% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 30.0
Students per teacher 23:1 +6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 45.1% -19% vs state
NCES ID 063680006238
Student demographics
White 43.4%
Hispanic or Latino 36.4%
African American 6.7%
Two or More 6.5%
Asian 5.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
Largest group: White at 43.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 322:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.5%
In-school suspensions 22
Out-of-school suspensions 113
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sierra Sands Unified, which includes Murray Middle.
$15,594
Per student
-14%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 17.0%
State 69.4%
Federal 13.6%
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
- 1,536
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 526
- Students per teacher
- 25:1
- Enrollment
- 516
- Students per teacher
- 25.6:1
- Enrollment
- 490
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 364
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
Similar middle schools in Ridgecrest
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 Murray Middle
How many students attend Murray Middle?
Murray Middle has 643 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Ridgecrest, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Murray Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Murray Middle is 23:1, which is 6% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 45% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Murray Middle?
45.1% of students at Murray Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Murray Middle?
The largest demographic group at Murray Middle is White at 43.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Ridgecrest, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Murray Middle?
Murray Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) 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.