Enrollment
429
California · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 060962001002
Whaley Middle — Compton, CA
Federal NCES profile for Whaley Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 57
📋 Attendance 64
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: Compton Unified · 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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
24.9:1
vs 21.6:1 California avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
62.8%
vs 55.5% California avg
+13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Whaley Middle 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
Whaley Middle reports 429 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 24.9:1 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 57% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 62.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 13% above the California average and 21% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 215 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Compton Unified spends $17,668 per pupil district-wide, below the California average of $18,039 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 15.5% from local sources (property taxes), 70.8% from the state, and 13.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), 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 Whaley Middle 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 | 24.9:1 | ▲ 15% | 21.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 62.8% | ▲ 13% | 55.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 429 | top 44% | — | — |
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
62.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 13% 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
24.9:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 81% in California — lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
14.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$17,668
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 215 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 429 Top 44% in California — larger than 56% of 10,006 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 24.9:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 62.8% +13% vs state
NCES ID 060962001002
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 87.2%
African American 11.0%
Two or More 1.4%
White 0.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 87.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 215:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.5%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Compton Unified, which includes Whaley Middle.
$17,668
Per student
-2%
vs California
Avg $18,039
-9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 15.5%
State 70.8%
Federal 13.8%
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
- 1,582
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,438
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 908
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Enrollment
- 692
- Students per teacher
- 27.3:1
- Enrollment
- 685
- Students per teacher
- 27.5:1
Similar middle schools in Compton
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Davis Middle
Standard public school
520 students 23.9:1 students per teacher
Willowbrook Middle
Standard public school
304 students 31.8:1 students per teacher
Bunche Middle
Standard public school
286 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Enterprise Middle
Standard public school
182 students 25.4:1 students per teacher
Bridges Preparatory Academy
Standard public school
151 students 23.6:1 students per teacher
Walton Middle
Standard public school
72 students 24:1 students per teacher
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 Whaley Middle
How many students attend Whaley Middle?
Whaley Middle has 429 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Compton, CA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Whaley Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Whaley Middle is 24.9:1, which is 15% higher than the California average of 21.6:1 and 57% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Whaley Middle?
62.8% of students at Whaley Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the California average of 55.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Whaley Middle?
The largest demographic group at Whaley Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 87.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Compton, CA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Whaley Middle?
Whaley Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.