Enrollment
1,536
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 063750006338
South Pasadena Senior High — South Pasadena, CA
Federal NCES profile for South Pasadena Senior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 2
📚 AP courses 90
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 80
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: South Pasadena 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)
60.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.6:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.2%
vs 55.5% California avg
-73% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How South Pasadena Senior 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
South Pasadena Senior High reports 1,536 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 60.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% 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 55% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 15.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 73% below the California average and 71% below the national baseline. The school offers 18 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 307 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 8.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding South Pasadena Unified spends $17,570 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 40.9% from local sources (property taxes), 51.3% from the state, and 7.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), 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 South Pasadena Senior 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 | 24.6:1 | ▲ 14% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.2% | ▼ 73% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,536 | top 94% | — | — |
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
15.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 73% 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
24.6:1
students per teacher
— 14% above state mean
Top 78% in California — lower ratio than 22% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
8.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$17,570
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
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 307 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 38 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,536 Top 94% in California — larger than 6% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 60.0
Students per teacher 24.6:1 +14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 15.2% -73% vs state
NCES ID 063750006338
Student demographics
Asian 34.0%
Hispanic or Latino 24.6%
White 24.4%
Two or More 15.8%
African American 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Asian at 34.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 18
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 307:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 8.1%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 38
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for South Pasadena Unified, which includes South Pasadena Senior High.
$17,570
Per student
-3%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 40.9%
State 51.3%
Federal 7.8%
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
- 1,096
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 783
- Students per teacher
- 26.9:1
- Enrollment
- 667
- Students per teacher
- 24.9:1
- Enrollment
- 570
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
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 South Pasadena Senior High
How many students attend South Pasadena Senior High?
South Pasadena Senior High has 1,536 students enrolled. It is a high school in South Pasadena, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South Pasadena Senior High?
The student-teacher ratio at South Pasadena Senior High is 24.6:1, which is 14% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 55% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at South Pasadena Senior High?
15.2% of students at South Pasadena Senior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of South Pasadena Senior High?
The largest demographic group at South Pasadena Senior High is Asian at 34.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in South Pasadena, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for South Pasadena Senior High?
South Pasadena Senior High has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.