High school (grades 9-12) · Van Nuys, CA

Van Nuys Senior High

Federal NCES profile for Van Nuys Senior High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 062271003424
0/100100/10053/100
👥 S:T ratio
30
📚 AP courses
100
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
51
📋 Attendance
13
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Van Nuys Senior High earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of California schools. It is also one of the largest schools in California.

#4 of 5
high schools in Van Nuys · Resource Index
53
Resource Index · Higher
17.6:1
small classes for California
79.7%
free-lunch eligible

Van Nuys Senior High has class sizes smaller than 81% of California schools. Computed live against every California school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Van Nuys Senior High ranks #4 of 5 high schools in Van Nuys, CA.

School address

Enrollment

1,969

California · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

112.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.6:1

vs 21.5:1 California avg

-18% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

79.7%

vs 55.5% California avg

+44% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Van Nuys Senior High compares with California and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Van Nuys Senior High

Van Nuys Senior High is a high-poverty, large high school in Van Nuys, California, enrolling 1,969 students.

Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 17.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of California schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 79.7% of students eligible for free meals.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in California, bigger than 97% of state schools at 1,969 students.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 9,998 scored California schools.

Among 222 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need California schools statewide, it ranks #21, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (70%) and Asian (12%) (diversity index 48/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 26 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor coverage is strong, about 246 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Los Angeles Unified spends $21,940 per pupil, 33% above the California average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 19.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Van Nuys's high schools, it stands alongside Ulysses S. Grant Senior High (1,774 students): Van Nuys Senior High is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (17.6:1 vs 21.4:1).

Los Angeles Unified also operates Grover Cleveland Charter High (2,719 students) and North Hollywood Senior High (2,444 students) alongside Van Nuys Senior High.

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 Van Nuys Senior High compares

Van Nuys Senior 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 17.6:1 ▼ 18% 21.5:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 79.7% ▲ 44% 55.5% 51.7%
Enrollment 1,969 top 3% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

17.6:1
Leaner classes than 27% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,969
Bigger than 98% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
79.7%
free-lunch eligible - 44% 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
17.6:1
students per teacher - 18% below state mean
Top 19% in California - lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
34.7%
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
$21,940
per pupil, district-wide - above California avg of $16,509
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors8.0 FTE
Per 246 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: 0.6 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

Hispanic or Latino 70.2%
Asian 12.1%
White 11.6%
African American 2.9%
Two or More 2.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 70.2% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 47.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 47.8, Van Nuys Senior High is about as mixed as the California school average of 46.0.

Programs

AP courses offered 26
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Los Angeles Unified, which includes Van Nuys Senior High.

$21,940
Per student
+33%
vs California
Avg $16,509
+32%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 26.3%
State 54.5%
Federal 19.2%

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 Van Nuys Senior High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Grover Cleveland Charter High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
North Hollywood Senior High Similar size Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Phineas Banning Senior High Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
San Pedro Senior High Similar size Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Venice Senior High Similar size Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Van Nuys Senior High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Los Angeles Unified · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Van Nuys

4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high 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.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Van Nuys Senior High's federal record.

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 Van Nuys Senior High

How many students attend Van Nuys Senior High?

Van Nuys Senior High has 1,969 students enrolled. It is a high school in Van Nuys, CA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Van Nuys Senior High?

The student-teacher ratio at Van Nuys Senior High is 17.6:1, which is 18% lower than the California average of 21.5:1 and 12% higher 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 Van Nuys Senior High?

79.7% of students at Van Nuys Senior High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Van Nuys Senior High?

The largest demographic group at Van Nuys Senior High is Hispanic or Latino at 70.2% of enrollment, in Van Nuys, CA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Van Nuys Senior High?

Van Nuys Senior High has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Van Nuys Senior High rank among high schools in Van Nuys?

By Resource Investment Index, Van Nuys Senior High ranks #4 of 5 high schools in Van Nuys, CA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Van Nuys on the city page.

Is Van Nuys Senior High a good school?

Van Nuys Senior High earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 81% of California schools. It is also one of the largest 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 Los Angeles Unified?

Besides Van Nuys Senior High, Los Angeles Unified also operates Grover Cleveland Charter High (2,719 students), North Hollywood Senior High (2,444 students), and Phineas Banning Senior High (2,422 students). See the Los Angeles Unified district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.