Enrollment
99
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 069102008217
Valley Merced Community — Merced, CA
Federal NCES profile for Valley Merced Community, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 18/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 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: Merced County Office of Education · 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)
9.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
25.8:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
87.9%
vs 55.5% California avg
+58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Valley Merced Community 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
Valley Merced Community reports 99 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 9.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 25.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% 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 62% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 87.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 58% above the California average and 70% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 283 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 100.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (F), calculated from 4 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 Valley Merced Community 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 | 25.8:1 | ▲ 19% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 87.9% | ▲ 58% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 99 | 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
87.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 58% 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
25.8:1
students per teacher
— 19% above state mean
Top 88% in California — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
100.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Support staff
Counselors0.3 FTE
Per 283 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 99 Top 10% in California — larger than 90% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 9.0
Students per teacher 25.8:1 +19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 87.9% +58% vs state
NCES ID 069102008217
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 77.6%
White 10.2%
African American 10.2%
Two or More 2.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 77.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.3
Students per counselor 283:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 100.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 6
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 942
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Enrollment
- 334
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Enrollment
- 160
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 128
- Students per teacher
- 34:1
- Enrollment
- 122
- Students per teacher
- 3:1
Similar other schools in Merced
3 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Valley Merced Community
How many students attend Valley Merced Community?
Valley Merced Community has 99 students enrolled. It is a other school in Merced, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valley Merced Community?
The student-teacher ratio at Valley Merced Community is 25.8:1, which is 19% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 62% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Valley Merced Community?
87.9% of students at Valley Merced Community are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Valley Merced Community?
The largest demographic group at Valley Merced Community is Hispanic or Latino at 77.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Merced, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Valley Merced Community?
Valley Merced Community has a Resource Investment Index of 18/100 (F) based on 4 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.