Enrollment
2,156
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 370472001830
Athens Drive High — Raleigh, NC
Federal NCES profile for Athens Drive High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 35
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 26
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)
127.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.2:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.7%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Athens Drive High 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
Athens Drive High reports 2,156 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 127.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 2% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 41.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 37% below the North Carolina average and 19% below the national baseline. The school offers 21 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 359 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.6% 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 52/100 (C-), calculated from 5 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 Athens Drive High 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 | 16.2:1 | ▼ 1% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.7% | ▼ 37% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,156 | top 99% | — | — |
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
41.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 37% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 66% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 34% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
29.6%
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
$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
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 359 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
232
in-school suspensions + 223 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 19 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 2,156 Top 99% in North Carolina — larger than 1% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 127.0
Students per teacher 16.2:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 41.7% -37% vs state
NCES ID 370472001830
Student demographics
White 42.3%
African American 25.2%
Hispanic or Latino 22.0%
Asian 7.1%
Two or More 3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 42.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 21
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 359:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.6%
In-school suspensions 232
Out-of-school suspensions 223
Expulsions 19
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wake County Schools, which includes Athens Drive High.
$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 high schools in Raleigh
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Enloe High
Standard public school
2,643 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Millbrook High
Standard public school
2,498 students 19.1:1 students per teacher
Leesville Road High
Standard public school
2,411 students 20.6:1 students per teacher
Needham Broughton High
Standard public school
2,153 students 17.6:1 students per teacher
Wakefield High
Standard public school
2,065 students 19.2:1 students per teacher
Sanderson High
Standard public school
1,648 students 18:1 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 Athens Drive High
How many students attend Athens Drive High?
Athens Drive High has 2,156 students enrolled. It is a high school in Raleigh, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Athens Drive High?
The student-teacher ratio at Athens Drive High is 16.2:1, which is 1% lower than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 2% higher 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 Athens Drive High?
41.7% of students at Athens Drive High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Athens Drive High?
The largest demographic group at Athens Drive High is White at 42.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Raleigh, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Athens Drive High?
Athens Drive High has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.