Enrollment
1,678
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 063480005880
San Luis Obispo High — San Luis Obispo, CA
Federal NCES profile for San Luis Obispo High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 16
📚 AP courses 80
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 16
📋 Attendance 37
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: San Luis Coastal 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)
78.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.1:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
-55% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How San Luis Obispo 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
San Luis Obispo High reports 1,678 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 78.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% 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 33% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 55% below the California average and 52% below the national baseline. The school offers 16 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 420 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding San Luis Coastal Unified spends $21,630 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 77.4% from local sources (property taxes), 16.0% from the state, and 6.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F), calculated from 5 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 San Luis Obispo 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 | 21.1:1 | ▼ 2% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.8% | ▼ 55% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,678 | top 95% | — | — |
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
24.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 55% 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
21.1:1
students per teacher
— 2% below state mean
Top 40% in California — lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
25.2%
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
$21,630
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 420 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 67 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,678 Top 95% in California — larger than 5% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 78.0
Students per teacher 21.1:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.8% -55% vs state
NCES ID 063480005880
Student demographics
White 56.5%
Hispanic or Latino 31.3%
Two or More 6.4%
Asian 4.3%
African American 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 56.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 16
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 420:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.2%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 67
Expulsions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Luis Coastal Unified, which includes San Luis Obispo High.
$21,630
Per student
+20%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+11%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 77.4%
State 16.0%
Federal 6.7%
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
- 780
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Enrollment
- 751
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Enrollment
- 528
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 521
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- Enrollment
- 494
- Students per teacher
- 20:1
Similar high schools in San Luis Obispo
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 San Luis Obispo High
How many students attend San Luis Obispo High?
San Luis Obispo High has 1,678 students enrolled. It is a high school in San Luis Obispo, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at San Luis Obispo High?
The student-teacher ratio at San Luis Obispo High is 21.1:1, which is 2% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 33% 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 San Luis Obispo High?
24.8% of students at San Luis Obispo High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of San Luis Obispo High?
The largest demographic group at San Luis Obispo High is White at 56.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in San Luis Obispo, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for San Luis Obispo High?
San Luis Obispo High has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.