Elementary school (grades K-5) · Fresno, CA

Norman Liddell Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Norman Liddell Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 29/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060797007499
0/100100/10029/100
👥 S:T ratio
0
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Norman Liddell Elementary earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 80% of California schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools.

#17 of 115
elementary schools in Fresno · Resource Index
29
Resource Index · Lower
25.1:1
large classes for California
51.7%
free-lunch eligible

Norman Liddell Elementary has class sizes larger than 80% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Norman Liddell Elementary ranks #17 of 115 elementary schools in Fresno, CA.

School address

Enrollment

628

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

25.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

25.1:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+17% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

51.7%

vs 55.5% California avg

-7% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Norman Liddell Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Larger classes than 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 Norman Liddell Elementary

Norman Liddell Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Fresno, California, enrolling 628 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 25.1:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 51.7% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

Enrollment of 628 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 1,545 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #577.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (47%) and White (23%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 69/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 628 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Among Fresno's elementary schools, it stands alongside Harvest Elementary (1,010 students): Norman Liddell Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (25.1:1 vs 29.7:1).

Central Unified also operates Justin Garza High (2,095 students) and Central East High (1,741 students) alongside Norman Liddell 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 Norman Liddell Elementary compares

Norman Liddell 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 25.1:1 ▲ 17% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 51.7% ▼ 7% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 628 top 29% - -

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

25.1:1
Leaner classes than 5% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
628
Bigger than 75% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
51.7%
free-lunch eligible - 7% 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
25.1:1
students per teacher - 17% above state mean
Top 80% in California - lower ratio than 20% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
21.5%
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
$14,150
per pupil, district-wide - below California avg of $16,509
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 628 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.4 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 47.3%
White 22.9%
Asian 17.0%
African American 8.1%
Two or More 3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 47.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 68.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 68.7, Norman Liddell Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Central Unified, which includes Norman Liddell Elementary.

$14,150
Per student
-14%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.2%
State 65.7%
Federal 12.0%

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 Norman Liddell Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Justin Garza High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Central East High Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Harvest Elementary Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Glacier Point Middle Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Rio Vista Middle Larger Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Central Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Fresno

6 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 Norman Liddell 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 Norman Liddell Elementary

How many students attend Norman Liddell Elementary?

Norman Liddell Elementary has 628 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Fresno, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Norman Liddell Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Norman Liddell Elementary is 25.1:1, which is 17% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 60% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Norman Liddell Elementary?

51.7% of students at Norman Liddell Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Norman Liddell Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Norman Liddell Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 47.3% of enrollment, in Fresno, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 68.7/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Norman Liddell Elementary?

Norman Liddell Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Norman Liddell Elementary rank among elementary schools in Fresno?

By Resource Investment Index, Norman Liddell Elementary ranks #17 of 115 elementary schools in Fresno, 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 Fresno on the city page.

Is Norman Liddell Elementary a good school?

Norman Liddell Elementary earns 29/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 80% of California schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most California schools. 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 Central Unified?

Besides Norman Liddell Elementary, Central Unified also operates Justin Garza High (2,095 students), Central East High (1,741 students), and Harvest Elementary (1,010 students). See the Central 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.