Enrollment
704
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 050225001350
Alma Primary School — Alma, AR
Federal NCES profile for Alma Primary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 24/100.
👥 Class size 22
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 45
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: Alma School District · Arkansas
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)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+43% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
38.4%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Alma Primary School compares with Arkansas 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
Alma Primary School reports 704 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 36.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 43% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 23% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 38.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% below the Arkansas average and 26% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 563 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Alma School District spends $12,494 per pupil district-wide, below the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.5% from local sources (property taxes), 57.2% from the state, and 17.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (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 Alma Primary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.5:1 | ▲ 43% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 38.4% | ▼ 35% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 704 | top 88% | — | — |
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
38.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.5:1
students per teacher
— 43% above state mean
Top 95% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
21.9%
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
$12,494
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.3 FTE
Per 563 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 704 Top 88% in Arkansas — larger than 12% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 36.0
Students per teacher 19.5:1 +43% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 38.4% -35% vs state
NCES ID 050225001350
Student demographics
White 78.0%
Two or More 11.8%
Hispanic or Latino 6.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.7%
African American 1.3%
Asian 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 78.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.3
Students per counselor 563:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.9%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alma School District, which includes Alma Primary School.
$12,494
Per student
-12%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.5%
State 57.2%
Federal 17.4%
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
- 981
- Students per teacher
- 9.2:1
- Enrollment
- 722
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Enrollment
- 685
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Alma
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Alma Primary School
How many students attend Alma Primary School?
Alma Primary School has 704 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in ALMA, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alma Primary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Alma Primary School is 19.5:1, which is 43% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 23% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Alma Primary School?
38.4% of students at Alma Primary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alma Primary School?
The largest demographic group at Alma Primary School is White at 78.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in ALMA, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Alma Primary School?
Alma Primary School has a Resource Investment Index of 24/100 (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.