Enrollment
524
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 061062001177
Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High — Davis, CA
Federal NCES profile for Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 55/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 68
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: Davis Joint 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)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.2:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
11.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-79% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High 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
Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High reports 524 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 30.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% 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 2% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 11.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 79% below the California average and 78% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 262 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 12.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Davis Joint Unified spends $22,820 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 52.6% from local sources (property taxes), 40.4% from the state, and 7.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C), 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 Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High 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 | 16.2:1 | ▼ 25% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 11.5% | ▼ 79% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 524 | top 58% | — | — |
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
11.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 79% below the California average of 55.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher
— 25% below state mean
Top 11% in California — lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
12.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$22,820
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 262 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 524 Top 58% in California — larger than 42% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 30.0
Students per teacher 16.2:1 -25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 11.5% -79% vs state
NCES ID 061062001177
Student demographics
White 49.6%
Hispanic or Latino 26.5%
Two or More 11.3%
Asian 9.2%
African American 2.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 49.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 262:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 12.8%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Davis Joint Unified, which includes Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High.
$22,820
Per student
+27%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 52.6%
State 40.4%
Federal 7.0%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,755
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Enrollment
- 588
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 572
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
- Enrollment
- 571
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Enrollment
- 562
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
Similar other schools in Davis
4 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior High
Standard public school
588 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Da Vinci Charter Academy
Standard public school
562 students 20.4:1 students per teacher
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High
Standard public school
533 students 20.9:1 students per teacher
Davis School for Independent Study
Alternative education program
124 students 14:1 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 Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High
How many students attend Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High?
Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High has 524 students enrolled. It is a other school in Davis, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High?
The student-teacher ratio at Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High is 16.2:1, which is 25% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 2% 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 Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High?
11.5% of students at Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High?
The largest demographic group at Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High is White at 49.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Davis, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High?
Ralph Waldo Emerson Junior High has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C) 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.