Enrollment
709
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 063864006489
National City Middle — National City, CA
Federal NCES profile for National City Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 34/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 65
📋 Attendance 42
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: Sweetwater Union High · 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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
84.4%
vs 55.5% California avg
+52% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How National City 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
National City Middle reports 709 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% 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 57% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 84.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 52% above the California average and 63% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 177 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 23.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sweetwater Union High spends $16,144 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.2% from local sources (property taxes), 58.4% from the state, and 9.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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 National City 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 | 24.9:1 | ▲ 15% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 84.4% | ▲ 52% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 709 | top 77% | — | — |
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
84.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 52% 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
24.9:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 81% in California — lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
23.3%
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
$16,144
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 177 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 49 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 709 Top 77% in California — larger than 23% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 24.9:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 84.4% +52% vs state
NCES ID 063864006489
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 88.6%
Asian 6.8%
White 2.1%
Two or More 1.7%
African American 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 177:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 23.3%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 49
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sweetwater Union High, which includes National City Middle.
$16,144
Per student
-11%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 32.2%
State 58.4%
Federal 9.4%
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
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,440
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,290
- Students per teacher
- 24.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,289
- Students per teacher
- 24.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,960
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
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 National City Middle
How many students attend National City Middle?
National City Middle has 709 students enrolled. It is a middle school in National City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at National City Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at National City Middle is 24.9:1, which is 15% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 57% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at National City Middle?
84.4% of students at National City Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of National City Middle?
The largest demographic group at National City Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 88.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in National City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for National City Middle?
National City Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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.