Enrollment
38
California · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cedarville, CA
Surprise Valley High
Federal NCES profile for Surprise Valley High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 26/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 063852006470
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Surprise Valley High earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 93% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California.
- 26
- Resource Index · Lower
- 12.7:1
- small classes for California
- 45.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 38
- students enrolled
Surprise Valley High 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 063852006470 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
3.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.7:1
vs 21.5:1 California avg
-41% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
45.5%
vs 55.5% California avg
-18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Surprise Valley High compares with California and U.S. medians
What stands out at Surprise Valley High
Surprise Valley High is a small combined-grade school in Cedarville, California, enrolling 38 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 12.7:1, Surprise Valley High is leaner than roughly 93% of California schools and 41% 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 45.5% of students eligible for free meals.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 95% of California schools, with 38 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 9,998 scored California schools.
Among 110 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #93, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (55%) and Hispanic or Latino (24%) (diversity index 62/100).
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 50.0% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district, Surprise Valley Joint Unified, also runs Surprise Valley Elementary (51 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 High compares
Surprise Valley High on the metrics families compare, against California and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs California | California avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.7:1 | ▼ 41% | 21.5:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 45.5% | ▼ 18% | 55.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 38 | top 95% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.7:1
Leaner classes than 69% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
38
Bigger than 4% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
45.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 18% 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
12.7:1
students per teacher
- 41% 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
50.0%
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
$16,652
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 + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 55.3%
Hispanic or Latino 23.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 10.5%
Two or More 10.5%
Largest group: White at 55.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 61.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 61.6, Surprise Valley High 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 High.
$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 High Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surprise Valley Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Surprise Valley High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 51
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
Similar other 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 (~38 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Surprise Valley High's federal record.
- Compare Surprise Valley High 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 High
How many students attend Surprise Valley High?
Surprise Valley High has 38 students enrolled. It is a public school in Cedarville, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Surprise Valley High?
The student-teacher ratio at Surprise Valley High is 12.7:1, which is 41% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 19% 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 High?
45.5% of students at Surprise Valley High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Surprise Valley High?
The largest demographic group at Surprise Valley High is White at 55.3% of enrollment, in Cedarville, CA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 61.6/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Surprise Valley High?
Surprise Valley High has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (lower 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 High a good school?
Surprise Valley High earns 26/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 93% of California schools. It is also one of the smallest schools in California. 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 High, Surprise Valley Joint Unified also operates Surprise Valley Elementary (51 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.