Other / mixed grade configuration · Jonesboro, GA

Arnold Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Arnold Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 47/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 130123000469
0/100100/10047/100
👥 S:T ratio
43
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
9
📋 Attendance
67
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Arnold Elementary School earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median.

#2 of 10
schools in Jonesboro · Resource Index
47
Resource Index · Typical
14.2:1
students per teacher
90.4%
free-lunch eligible

Arnold Elementary School has class sizes near the Georgia median. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Arnold Elementary School ranks #2 of 10 schools in Jonesboro, GA.

School address

Enrollment

454

Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

32.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

14.2:1

vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg

-1% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

90.4%

vs 60.7% Georgia avg

+49% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Arnold Elementary School compares with Georgia and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Arnold Elementary School

Arnold Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Jonesboro, Georgia, enrolling 454 students.

At 14.2:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Georgia median, within a few percentage points of the 14.4:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 90.4% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 454 puts it in the smaller third of Georgia schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,314 scored Georgia schools.

Against 460 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #68.

Its student body is led by African American (68%) and Hispanic or Latino (18%) (diversity index 50/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 454 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

13.2% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

Its district draws 15.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Jonesboro's public schools, it stands alongside Elite Scholars Academy School (757 students): Arnold Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.2:1 vs 19.4:1).

Clayton County also operates Morrow High School (2,077 students) and Lovejoy High School (2,049 students) alongside Arnold Elementary 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 Arnold Elementary School compares

Arnold Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Georgia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Georgia Georgia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 14.2:1 ▼ 1% 14.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 90.4% ▲ 49% 60.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 454 top 75% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

14.2:1
Leaner classes than 55% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
454
Bigger than 55% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
90.4%
free-lunch eligible - 49% above the Georgia average of 60.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.2:1
students per teacher - 1% below state mean
Top 52% in Georgia - lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
13.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$12,136
per pupil, district-wide - below Georgia avg of $13,863
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 454 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.2 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

African American 68.1%
Hispanic or Latino 18.3%
Asian 4.8%
Two or More 4.6%
White 3.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%

Largest group: African American at 68.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 49.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 49.7, Arnold Elementary School is about as mixed as the Georgia school average of 50.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Clayton County, which includes Arnold Elementary School.

$12,136
Per student
-12%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.4%
State 51.5%
Federal 15.1%

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 Arnold Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Morrow High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Lovejoy High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Forest Park High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Charles R. Drew High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Mundy's Mill High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Arnold Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Clayton County · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Jonesboro

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Georgia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Arnold Elementary School's federal record.

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 Arnold Elementary School

How many students attend Arnold Elementary School?

Arnold Elementary School has 454 students enrolled. It is a public school in Jonesboro, GA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Arnold Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Arnold Elementary School is 14.2:1, which is 1% lower than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 10% 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 Arnold Elementary School?

90.4% of students at Arnold Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Arnold Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Arnold Elementary School is African American at 68.1% of enrollment, in Jonesboro, GA.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Arnold Elementary School?

Arnold Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Arnold Elementary School rank among schools in Jonesboro?

By Resource Investment Index, Arnold Elementary School ranks #2 of 10 schools in Jonesboro, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Jonesboro on the city page.

Is Arnold Elementary School a good school?

Arnold Elementary School earns 47/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia 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 Clayton County?

Besides Arnold Elementary School, Clayton County also operates Morrow High School (2,077 students), Lovejoy High School (2,049 students), and Forest Park High School (1,711 students). See the Clayton County district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.