Enrollment
1,494
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 370472003491
Alston Ridge Middle — Cary, NC
Federal NCES profile for Alston Ridge Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 79
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: Wake County Schools · North Carolina
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)
78.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.7:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
17.7%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-73% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Alston Ridge Middle compares with North Carolina 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
Alston Ridge Middle reports 1,494 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 78.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% above the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 18% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 17.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 73% below the North Carolina average and 66% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 498 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 8.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Wake County Schools spends $14,074 per pupil district-wide, above the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.9% from local sources (property taxes), 54.5% from the state, and 16.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Alston Ridge Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against North Carolina state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.7:1 | ▲ 14% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 17.7% | ▼ 73% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,494 | top 96% | — | — |
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
17.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 73% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.7:1
students per teacher
— 14% above state mean
Top 87% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 13% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
8.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$14,074
per pupil, district-wide
— above North Carolina avg of $13,042
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 498 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
81
in-school suspensions + 23 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,494 Top 96% in North Carolina — larger than 4% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 78.0
Students per teacher 18.7:1 +14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 17.7% -73% vs state
NCES ID 370472003491
Student demographics
Asian 49.3%
White 22.4%
Hispanic or Latino 11.7%
African American 11.4%
Two or More 4.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Asian at 49.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 498:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 8.5%
In-school suspensions 81
Out-of-school suspensions 23
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wake County Schools, which includes Alston Ridge Middle.
$14,074
Per student
+8%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.9%
State 54.5%
Federal 16.6%
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
- 2,748
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 2,643
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,609
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,498
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,449
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
Similar middle schools in Cary
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Mills Park Middle
Standard public school
1,632 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Davis Drive Middle
Standard public school
992 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
West Cary Middle
Standard public school
824 students 16.9:1 students per teacher
Reedy Creek Middle
Standard public school
805 students 14.2:1 students per teacher
East Cary Middle
Standard public school
597 students 13.3:1 students per teacher
Connections Academy
Alternative education program
8 students 1.8:1 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 Alston Ridge Middle
How many students attend Alston Ridge Middle?
Alston Ridge Middle has 1,494 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Cary, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alston Ridge Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Alston Ridge Middle is 18.7:1, which is 14% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 18% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Alston Ridge Middle?
17.7% of students at Alston Ridge Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alston Ridge Middle?
The largest demographic group at Alston Ridge Middle is Asian at 49.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cary, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Alston Ridge Middle?
Alston Ridge Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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.