Enrollment
2,290
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 063864006495
Sweetwater High — National City, CA
Federal NCES profile for Sweetwater High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 1
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 71
📋 Attendance 0
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: Sweetwater 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)
108.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
78.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
+41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sweetwater 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
Sweetwater High reports 2,290 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 108.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% 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 56% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 78.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 41% above the California average and 51% above the national baseline. The school offers 31 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 147 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 42.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sweetwater Union High spends $16,144 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.2% from local sources (property taxes), 58.4% from the state, and 9.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Sweetwater 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 | 24.8:1 | ▲ 15% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 78.3% | ▲ 41% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,290 | top 98% | — | — |
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
78.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% 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
24.8:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 80% in California — lower ratio than 20% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
42.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$16,144
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
Counselors15.6 FTE
Per 147 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 180 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 2,290 Top 98% in California — larger than 2% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 108.0
Students per teacher 24.8:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 78.3% +41% vs state
NCES ID 063864006495
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 77.0%
Asian 13.0%
White 6.6%
African American 1.5%
Two or More 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 77.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 31
Counselors (FTE) 15.6
Students per counselor 147:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 42.9%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 180
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sweetwater Union High, which includes Sweetwater High.
$16,144
Per student
-11%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 32.2%
State 58.4%
Federal 9.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,557
- Students per teacher
- 25.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,440
- Students per teacher
- 24.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,289
- Students per teacher
- 24.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,960
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,941
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
Similar high schools in National City
1 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 Sweetwater High
How many students attend Sweetwater High?
Sweetwater High has 2,290 students enrolled. It is a high school in National City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sweetwater High?
The student-teacher ratio at Sweetwater High is 24.8:1, which is 15% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 56% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sweetwater High?
78.3% of students at Sweetwater High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sweetwater High?
The largest demographic group at Sweetwater High is Hispanic or Latino at 77.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in National City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sweetwater High?
Sweetwater High has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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.