Enrollment
89
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 061893001427
Thornton High — Daly City, CA
Federal NCES profile for Thornton High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 36/100.
👥 Class size 49
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 93
📋 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: Jefferson 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)
6.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
-41% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
40.3%
vs 55.5% California avg
-27% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Thornton 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
Thornton High reports 89 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 6.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 41% 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 19% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 40.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 27% below the California average and 22% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 37 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 80.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Jefferson Union High spends $33,180 per pupil district-wide, above the California average of $18,039 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 81.8% from local sources (property taxes), 13.2% from the state, and 5.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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 Thornton 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 | 12.8:1 | ▼ 41% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 40.3% | ▼ 27% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 89 | top 10% | — | — |
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
40.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 27% 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
— 41% below state mean
Top 6% in California — lower ratio than 94% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
80.9%
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
$33,180
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
Counselors2.4 FTE
Per 37 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 89 Top 10% in California — larger than 90% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 6.0
Students per teacher 12.8:1 -41% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 40.3% -27% vs state
NCES ID 061893001427
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 62.5%
Asian 15.9%
White 11.4%
Two or More 6.8%
African American 2.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 62.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 2.4
Students per counselor 37:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 80.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Jefferson Union High, which includes Thornton High.
$33,180
Per student
+84%
vs California
Avg $18,039
+70%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 81.8%
State 13.2%
Federal 5.1%
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
- 1,278
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,072
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 740
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 471
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
Similar high schools in Daly City
3 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 Thornton High
How many students attend Thornton High?
Thornton High has 89 students enrolled. It is a high school in Daly City, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thornton High?
The student-teacher ratio at Thornton High is 12.8:1, which is 41% lower than the California average of 21.6:1 and 19% lower 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 Thornton High?
40.3% of students at Thornton High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Thornton High?
The largest demographic group at Thornton High is Hispanic or Latino at 62.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Daly City, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Thornton High?
Thornton High has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.