Enrollment
841
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 061029011448
Sam H. Lawson Middle — Cupertino, CA
Federal NCES profile for Sam H. Lawson Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 24
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 16
📋 Attendance 86
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: Cupertino Union · 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)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
5.0%
vs 55.5% California avg
-91% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sam H. Lawson 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
Sam H. Lawson Middle reports 841 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% 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 19% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 5.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 91% below the California average and 90% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 421 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 5.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cupertino Union spends $16,117 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 60.6% from local sources (property taxes), 33.6% from the state, and 5.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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 Sam H. Lawson 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 | 19:1 | ▼ 12% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 5.0% | ▼ 91% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 841 | top 84% | — | — |
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
5.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 91% 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
19:1
students per teacher
— 12% below state mean
Top 22% in California — lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
5.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$16,117
per pupil, district-wide
— below 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 421 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 841 Top 84% in California — larger than 16% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 19:1 -12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 5.0% -91% vs state
NCES ID 061029011448
Student demographics
Asian 83.6%
White 6.2%
Two or More 5.5%
Hispanic or Latino 3.7%
African American 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Asian at 83.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 421:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 5.5%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cupertino Union, which includes Sam H. Lawson Middle.
$16,117
Per student
-11%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 60.6%
State 33.6%
Federal 5.9%
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
- 1,067
- Students per teacher
- 20.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,067
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
- Enrollment
- 880
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Enrollment
- 840
- Students per teacher
- 24.9:1
- Enrollment
- 800
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
Similar middle schools in Cupertino
2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Sam H. Lawson Middle
How many students attend Sam H. Lawson Middle?
Sam H. Lawson Middle has 841 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Cupertino, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sam H. Lawson Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Sam H. Lawson Middle is 19:1, which is 12% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 19% 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 Sam H. Lawson Middle?
5.0% of students at Sam H. Lawson Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sam H. Lawson Middle?
The largest demographic group at Sam H. Lawson Middle is Asian at 83.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cupertino, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sam H. Lawson Middle?
Sam H. Lawson Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (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.