Enrollment
221
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Alta, IA
Alta-Aurelia High School
Federal NCES profile for Alta-Aurelia High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 190348000046
👥 S:T ratio 41
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 50
📋 Attendance 41
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Alta-Aurelia High School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Iowa median.
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.7:1
- students per teacher
- 30.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 221
- students enrolled
Alta-Aurelia High School has class sizes near the Iowa median. Computed live against every Iowa school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Alta-Aurelia Comm School District · Iowa
NCES ID 190348000046 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.7:1
vs 14.8:1 Iowa avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
30.6%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Alta-Aurelia High School compares with Iowa and U.S. medians
What stands out at Alta-Aurelia High School
Alta-Aurelia High School is a mid-sized high school in Alta, Iowa, enrolling 221 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 14.7:1 puts it in the larger third of Iowa schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 30.6% lands close to the Iowa typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 221 puts it in the smaller third of Iowa schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,322 scored Iowa schools.
Against 384 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #207.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 33/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 251 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Alta-Aurelia Comm School District also operates Alta Elementary School (256 students) and Alta-Aurelia Middle Sch (228 students) alongside Alta-Aurelia High School.
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 Alta-Aurelia High School compares
Alta-Aurelia High School on the metrics families compare, against Iowa and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.7:1 | ▼ 1% | 14.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 30.6% | ▼ 16% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 221 | top 71% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.7:1
Leaner classes than 50% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
221
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
30.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 16% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.7:1
students per teacher
- 1% below state mean
Top 61% in Iowa - lower ratio than 39% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
23.5%
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
$12,205
per pupil, district-wide
- below Iowa avg of $12,854
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.9 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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
White 80.5%
Hispanic or Latino 16.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.4%
Two or More 1.4%
African American 0.5%
Largest group: White at 80.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 32.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 32.5, Alta-Aurelia High School is about as mixed as the Iowa school average of 33.8.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alta-Aurelia Comm School District, which includes Alta-Aurelia High School.
$12,205
Per student
-5%
vs Iowa
Avg $12,854
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 42.6%
State 45.5%
Federal 11.9%
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 Alta-Aurelia High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alta Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Alta-Aurelia Middle Sch | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Aurelia Elementary School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Alta-Aurelia High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 256
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 228
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 62/100
- Enrollment
- 124
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Resource Index
- 58/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Iowa, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~221 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Alta-Aurelia High School's federal record.
- Compare Alta-Aurelia High School against another school. Compare schools
- Alta-Aurelia Comm School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Alta-Aurelia High School
How many students attend Alta-Aurelia High School?
Alta-Aurelia High School has 221 students enrolled. It is a high school in Alta, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alta-Aurelia High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Alta-Aurelia High School is 14.7:1, which is 1% lower than the Iowa average of 14.8:1 and 6% lower 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 Alta-Aurelia High School?
30.6% of students at Alta-Aurelia High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alta-Aurelia High School?
The largest demographic group at Alta-Aurelia High School is White at 80.5% of enrollment, in Alta, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Alta-Aurelia High School?
Alta-Aurelia High School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Alta-Aurelia High School a good school?
Alta-Aurelia High School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Iowa median. 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 Alta-Aurelia Comm School District?
Besides Alta-Aurelia High School, Alta-Aurelia Comm School District also operates Alta Elementary School (256 students), Alta-Aurelia Middle Sch (228 students), and Aurelia Elementary School (124 students). See the Alta-Aurelia Comm School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.