Enrollment
196
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 062676009951
Needles Middle — Needles, CA
Federal NCES profile for Needles Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 26/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 17
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: Needles 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)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
79.7%
vs 55.5% California avg
+44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Needles 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
Needles Middle reports 196 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 11.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% 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 10% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 79.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 44% above the California average and 54% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 33.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Needles Unified spends $25,323 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.9% from local sources (property taxes), 54.6% from the state, and 22.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Needles 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 | 17.5:1 | ▼ 19% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 79.7% | ▲ 44% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 196 | top 17% | — | — |
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
79.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 44% 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
17.5:1
students per teacher
— 19% below state mean
Top 15% in California — lower ratio than 85% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
33.2%
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
$25,323
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 51 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 26.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 196 Top 17% in California — larger than 83% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 11.0
Students per teacher 17.5:1 -19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 79.7% +44% vs state
NCES ID 062676009951
Student demographics
White 41.8%
Hispanic or Latino 36.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 11.2%
Two or More 7.7%
African American 1.5%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 41.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 33.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 51
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Needles Unified, which includes Needles Middle.
$25,323
Per student
+40%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+30%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.9%
State 54.6%
Federal 22.6%
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
- 319
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 269
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Enrollment
- 70
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 40
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
- Enrollment
- 18
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
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 Needles Middle
How many students attend Needles Middle?
Needles Middle has 196 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Needles, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Needles Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Needles Middle is 17.5:1, which is 19% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 10% 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 Needles Middle?
79.7% of students at Needles Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Needles Middle?
The largest demographic group at Needles Middle is White at 41.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Needles, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Needles Middle?
Needles Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.