Enrollment
1,064
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 063873006511
Taft Union High — Taft, CA
Federal NCES profile for Taft Union High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 18/100.
👥 Class size 21
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 29
📋 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 →
The verdict
Taft Union High earns an F Resource Investment Index (18/100), even as it posts class sizes smaller than 73% of California schools.
- F
- Resource Index · 18/100
- 19.7:1
- small classes for California
- 59.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,064
- students enrolled
School address
District: Taft 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)
56.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.7:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
59.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
+7% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Taft Union 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
Taft Union High reports 1,064 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 56.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% below the California state mean of 21.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 24% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 59.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 7% above the California average and 14% above the national baseline. The school offers 2 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 355 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 42.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Taft Union High spends $24,939 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 33.9% from local sources (property taxes), 56.4% from the state, and 9.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (F), 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 Taft Union 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 | 19.7:1 | ▼ 9% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 59.3% | ▲ 7% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,064 | top 90% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
20 smaller classes than 17% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
1,064 larger than 92% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
59.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 7% 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
19.7:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 27% in California — lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
42.4%
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
$24,939
per pupil, district-wide
— above California avg of $18,039
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 355 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 41 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 4 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,064 Top 90% in California — larger than 10% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 56.0
Students per teacher 19.7:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 59.3% +7% vs state
NCES ID 063873006511
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 61.7%
White 35.4%
Two or More 1.2%
Asian 0.9%
African American 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 61.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 2
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 355:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 42.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 41
Expulsions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Taft Union High, which includes Taft Union High.
$24,939
Per student
+38%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 33.9%
State 56.4%
Federal 9.6%
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
- 85
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
Similar high schools in Taft
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 Taft Union High
How many students attend Taft Union High?
Taft Union High has 1,064 students enrolled. It is a high school in Taft, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Taft Union High?
The student-teacher ratio at Taft Union High is 19.7:1, which is 9% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 24% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Taft Union High?
59.3% of students at Taft Union High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Taft Union High?
The largest demographic group at Taft Union High is Hispanic or Latino at 61.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Taft, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Taft Union High?
Taft Union High has a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (F) 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.