Enrollment
599
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Signal Hill, CA
Signal Hill Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Signal Hill Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 062250002757
👥 S:T ratio 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 73
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Signal Hill Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of California schools.
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 26:1
- large classes for California
- 64.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 599
- students enrolled
Signal Hill Elementary has class sizes larger than 85% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Long Beach Unified · California
NCES ID 062250002757 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
23.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
26:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
+21% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
+16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Signal Hill Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Signal Hill Elementary
Signal Hill Elementary is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Signal Hill, California, enrolling 599 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 26:1 puts it in the larger third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 64.2% lands close to the California typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 599 puts it in the larger third of California schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Against 1,978 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #260.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (57%) and Asian (22%) (diversity index 60/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 136 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 52.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 15.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Long Beach Unified also operates Polytechnic High (3,890 students) and Millikan High (3,408 students) alongside Signal Hill Elementary.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Signal Hill Elementary compares
Signal Hill Elementary on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 26:1 | ▲ 21% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.2% | ▲ 16% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 599 | top 32% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
26:1
Leaner classes than 4% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
599
Bigger than 72% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
64.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 16% 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
26:1
students per teacher
- 21% above state mean
Top 85% in California - lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
52.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$16,028
per pupil, district-wide
- below California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors4.4 FTE
Per 136 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 57.3%
Asian 21.7%
African American 14.0%
Two or More 4.3%
White 1.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 57.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 60.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 60.3, Signal Hill Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Long Beach Unified, which includes Signal Hill Elementary.
$16,028
Per student
-3%
vs California
Avg $16,509
-3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.5%
State 60.1%
Federal 15.4%
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.
How Signal Hill Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Polytechnic High | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Millikan High | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Wilson High | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lakewood High | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Jordan High | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Signal Hill Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,890
- Students per teacher
- 23.3:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 3,408
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 3,349
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 2,305
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 2,272
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of California, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~599 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~26:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Signal Hill Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Signal Hill Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Long Beach Unified's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Signal Hill Elementary
How many students attend Signal Hill Elementary?
Signal Hill Elementary has 599 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Signal Hill, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Signal Hill Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Signal Hill Elementary is 26:1, which is 21% higher than the California average of 21.5:1 and 66% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Signal Hill Elementary?
64.2% of students at Signal Hill Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Signal Hill Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Signal Hill Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 57.3% of enrollment, in Signal Hill, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 60.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Signal Hill Elementary?
Signal Hill Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Signal Hill Elementary a good school?
Signal Hill Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 85% of California schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Long Beach Unified?
Besides Signal Hill Elementary, Long Beach Unified also operates Polytechnic High (3,890 students), Millikan High (3,408 students), and Wilson High (3,349 students). See the Long Beach Unified district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.