Enrollment
3,143
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 063567006084
Santa Maria High — Santa Maria, CA
Federal NCES profile for Santa Maria High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 9
📚 AP courses 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 37
📋 Attendance 53
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: Santa Maria Joint Union High · 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)
140.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
75.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
+36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Santa Maria 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
Santa Maria High reports 3,143 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 140.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% above the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 43% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 75.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 36% above the California average and 45% above the national baseline. The school offers 10 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 314 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Santa Maria Joint Union High spends $21,304 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.8% from local sources (property taxes), 59.5% from the state, and 7.7% 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 Santa Maria 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 | 22.8:1 | ▲ 6% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 75.3% | ▲ 36% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 3,143 | top 100% | — | — |
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
75.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 36% 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
22.8:1
students per teacher
— 6% above state mean
Top 59% in California — lower ratio than 41% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
18.6%
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
$21,304
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
Counselors10.0 FTE
Per 314 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 137 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 3,143 Top 100% in California — larger than 0% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 140.0
Students per teacher 22.8:1 +6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 75.3% +36% vs state
NCES ID 063567006084
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 97.4%
White 1.2%
Asian 0.9%
African American 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Two or More 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 10
Counselors (FTE) 10.0
Students per counselor 314:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 137
Expulsions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Maria Joint Union High, which includes Santa Maria High.
$21,304
Per student
+18%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 32.8%
State 59.5%
Federal 7.7%
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
- 3,080
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,416
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
Similar high schools in Santa Maria
3 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 Santa Maria High
How many students attend Santa Maria High?
Santa Maria High has 3,143 students enrolled. It is a high school in Santa Maria, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Maria High?
The student-teacher ratio at Santa Maria High is 22.8:1, which is 6% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 43% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Santa Maria High?
75.3% of students at Santa Maria High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Maria High?
The largest demographic group at Santa Maria High is Hispanic or Latino at 97.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Santa Maria, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Maria High?
Santa Maria 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.