Enrollment
999
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 062580010278
Palm Middle — Moreno Valley, CA
Federal NCES profile for Palm Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 23/100.
👥 Class size 22
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 0
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: Moreno Valley 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)
52.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.5:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
63.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
+14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palm 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
Palm Middle reports 999 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 52.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% 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 23% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 63.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 14% above the California average and 22% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 500 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 43.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Moreno Valley Unified spends $19,231 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 16.5% from local sources (property taxes), 70.3% from the state, and 13.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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 Palm 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 | 19.5:1 | ▼ 10% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 63.3% | ▲ 14% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 999 | top 89% | — | — |
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
63.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 14% 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
19.5:1
students per teacher
— 10% below state mean
Top 26% in California — lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
43.2%
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
$19,231
per pupil, district-wide
— above 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 500 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 129 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 999 Top 89% in California — larger than 11% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 52.0
Students per teacher 19.5:1 -10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 63.3% +14% vs state
NCES ID 062580010278
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 71.3%
African American 12.4%
White 9.9%
Two or More 3.1%
Asian 2.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 71.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 500:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 43.2%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 129
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Moreno Valley Unified, which includes Palm Middle.
$19,231
Per student
+7%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 16.5%
State 70.3%
Federal 13.2%
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
- 2,699
- Students per teacher
- 22.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,251
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,103
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,924
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,419
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
Similar middle schools in Moreno Valley
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Vista Heights Middle
Standard public school
1,419 students 21.9:1 students per teacher
Sunnymead Middle
Standard public school
1,185 students 20.2:1 students per teacher
Mountain View Middle
Standard public school
1,114 students 22.4:1 students per teacher
Badger Springs Middle
Standard public school
1,058 students 20.8:1 students per teacher
Vista Verde Middle
Standard public school
900 students 22.6:1 students per teacher
Landmark Middle
Standard public school
849 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
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 Palm Middle
How many students attend Palm Middle?
Palm Middle has 999 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Moreno Valley, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palm Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Palm Middle is 19.5:1, which is 10% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 23% 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 Palm Middle?
63.3% of students at Palm Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palm Middle?
The largest demographic group at Palm Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 71.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Moreno Valley, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palm Middle?
Palm Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (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.