Enrollment
51
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cedarville, CA
Surprise Valley Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Surprise Valley Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 063852006469
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 90
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Surprise Valley Elementary earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of California schools.
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.8:1
- small classes for California
- 48.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 51
- students enrolled
Surprise Valley Elementary has class sizes smaller than 93% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Surprise Valley Joint Unified · California
NCES ID 063852006469 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
4.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
48.1%
vs 55.5% California avg
-13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Surprise Valley Elementary compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Surprise Valley Elementary
Surprise Valley Elementary is a small elementary school in Cedarville, California, enrolling 51 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 12.8:1, Surprise Valley Elementary is leaner than roughly 93% of California schools and 40% under the state's 21.5:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 48.1% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 94% of California schools, with 51 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 96% of the 9,998 California schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 140 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #30.
Its student body is led by White (53%) and Hispanic or Latino (24%) (diversity index 64/100).
Attendance holds up well here: only 3.9% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district, Surprise Valley Joint Unified, also runs Surprise Valley High (38 students).
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 Surprise Valley Elementary compares
Surprise Valley 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 | 12.8:1 | ▼ 40% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 48.1% | ▼ 13% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 51 | top 94% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
51
Bigger than 6% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
48.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 13% below the California average of 55.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher
- 40% below state mean
Top 7% in California - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
3.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$16,652
per pupil, district-wide
- above California avg of $16,509
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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: 2.0 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
White 52.9%
Hispanic or Latino 23.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 13.7%
Two or More 9.8%
Largest group: White at 52.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 63.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 63.7, Surprise Valley Elementary is more mixed than the California school average of 46.0.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Surprise Valley Joint Unified, which includes Surprise Valley Elementary.
$16,652
Per student
+1%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+0%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.7%
State 55.0%
Federal 10.3%
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 Surprise Valley Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surprise Valley High | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Surprise Valley Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 38
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
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 (~51 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Surprise Valley Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Surprise Valley Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Surprise Valley Joint 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 Surprise Valley Elementary
How many students attend Surprise Valley Elementary?
Surprise Valley Elementary has 51 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cedarville, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Surprise Valley Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Surprise Valley Elementary is 12.8:1, which is 40% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Surprise Valley Elementary?
48.1% of students at Surprise Valley Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Surprise Valley Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Surprise Valley Elementary is White at 52.9% of enrollment, in Cedarville, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 63.7/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Surprise Valley Elementary?
Surprise Valley Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Surprise Valley Elementary a good school?
Surprise Valley Elementary earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% 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 Surprise Valley Joint Unified?
Besides Surprise Valley Elementary, Surprise Valley Joint Unified also operates Surprise Valley High (38 students). See the Surprise Valley Joint 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.