Enrollment
343
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 360255000038
Alden Middle School — Alden, NY
Federal NCES profile for Alden Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 58
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 66
📋 Attendance 51
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: Alden Central School District · New York
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)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.5:1
vs 11.7:1 New York avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.8%
vs 56.2% New York avg
-56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Alden Middle School compares with New York 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
Alden Middle School reports 343 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 33.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% below the New York state mean of 11.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 34% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 56% below the New York average and 52% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 172 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Alden Central School District spends $23,981 per pupil district-wide, below the New York average of $29,727 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 42.7% from local sources (property taxes), 45.8% from the state, and 11.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), 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 Alden Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New York state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.5:1 | ▼ 10% | 11.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.8% | ▼ 56% | 56.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 343 | top 33% | — | — |
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
24.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 56% below the New York average of 56.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.5:1
students per teacher
— 10% below state mean
Top 34% in New York — lower ratio than 66% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
19.8%
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
$23,981
per pupil, district-wide
— below New York avg of $29,727
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 172 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 343 Top 33% in New York — larger than 67% of 4,812 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 33.0
Students per teacher 10.5:1 -10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.8% -56% vs state
NCES ID 360255000038
Student demographics
White 95.0%
Hispanic or Latino 2.3%
Two or More 1.2%
African American 0.9%
Asian 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 95.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 172:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.8%
In-school suspensions 11
Out-of-school suspensions 17
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alden Central School District, which includes Alden Middle School.
$23,981
Per student
-19%
vs New York
Avg $29,727
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 42.7%
State 45.8%
Federal 11.5%
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
- 488
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 344
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 299
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
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 Alden Middle School
How many students attend Alden Middle School?
Alden Middle School has 343 students enrolled. It is a middle school in ALDEN, NY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alden Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Alden Middle School is 10.5:1, which is 10% lower than the New York average of 11.7:1 and 34% 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 Alden Middle School?
24.8% of students at Alden Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alden Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Alden Middle School is White at 95.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in ALDEN, NY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Alden Middle School?
Alden Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) 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.