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

Pacific Rim Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Pacific Rim Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 060750008312
0/100100/10036/100
👥 S:T ratio
8
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
66
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Pacific Rim Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median.

#9 of 15
elementary schools in Carlsbad · Resource Index
36
Resource Index · Typical
22.9:1
students per teacher
10.5%
free-lunch eligible

Pacific Rim Elementary has class sizes near the California median. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Pacific Rim Elementary ranks #9 of 15 elementary schools in Carlsbad, CA.

School address

Enrollment

642

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

28.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

22.9:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

+7% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

10.5%

vs 55.5% California avg

-81% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Pacific Rim Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Pacific Rim Elementary

Pacific Rim Elementary is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Carlsbad, California, enrolling 642 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 22.9:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 10.5% free-meal eligibility runs 81% below the California average.

Enrollment of 642 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Against 914 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #469.

Its student body is led by White (64%) and Hispanic or Latino (17%) (diversity index 55/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 642 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

13.7% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

Among Carlsbad's elementary schools, it stands alongside Carrillo Elementary (725 students): Pacific Rim Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (22.9:1 vs 25:1).

Carlsbad Unified also operates Carlsbad High (2,336 students) and Sage Creek High (1,289 students) alongside Pacific Rim 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 Pacific Rim Elementary compares

Pacific Rim 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 22.9:1 ▲ 7% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 10.5% ▼ 81% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 642 top 28% - -

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

22.9:1
Leaner classes than 8% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
642
Bigger than 76% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
10.5%
free-lunch eligible - 81% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
22.9:1
students per teacher - 7% above state mean
Top 61% in California - lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
13.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$13,634
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 642 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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

White 63.9%
Hispanic or Latino 16.5%
Two or More 10.4%
Asian 8.4%
African American 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%

Largest group: White at 63.9% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 54.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 54.7, Pacific Rim Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Carlsbad Unified, which includes Pacific Rim Elementary.

$13,634
Per student
-17%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 80.1%
State 14.0%
Federal 5.8%

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 Pacific Rim Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Carlsbad High Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Sage Creek High Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Aviara Oaks Middle Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Valley Middle Larger Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio
Hope Elementary Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Carlsbad Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Carlsbad

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 Pacific Rim 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 Pacific Rim Elementary

How many students attend Pacific Rim Elementary?

Pacific Rim Elementary has 642 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Carlsbad, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Pacific Rim Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Pacific Rim Elementary is 22.9:1, which is 7% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 46% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pacific Rim Elementary?

10.5% of students at Pacific Rim Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pacific Rim Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Pacific Rim Elementary is White at 63.9% of enrollment, in Carlsbad, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 54.7/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Pacific Rim Elementary?

Pacific Rim Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical 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 Pacific Rim Elementary rank among elementary schools in Carlsbad?

By Resource Investment Index, Pacific Rim Elementary ranks #9 of 15 elementary schools in Carlsbad, 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 Carlsbad on the city page.

Is Pacific Rim Elementary a good school?

Pacific Rim Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the California median. 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 Carlsbad Unified?

Besides Pacific Rim Elementary, Carlsbad Unified also operates Carlsbad High (2,336 students), Sage Creek High (1,289 students), and Aviara Oaks Middle (991 students). See the Carlsbad 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.