Enrollment
881
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 120159001754
Bartow Middle School — Bartow, FL
Federal NCES profile for Bartow Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 21
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 41
📋 Attendance 0
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
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)
53.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.7:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
+8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
62.6%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+20% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bartow Middle School compares with Florida 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
Bartow Middle School reports 881 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 53.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% above the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 24% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 62.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 20% above the Florida average and 21% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 294 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 50.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Polk spends $12,580 per pupil district-wide, below the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 35.2% from local sources (property taxes), 43.8% from the state, and 21.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Bartow Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.7:1 | ▲ 8% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 62.6% | ▲ 20% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 881 | top 75% | — | — |
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
62.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 20% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
19.7:1
students per teacher
— 8% above state mean
Top 75% in Florida — lower ratio than 25% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
50.1%
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
$12,580
per pupil, district-wide
— below Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 294 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
165
in-school suspensions + 210 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 18.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 42.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 10 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 881 Top 75% in Florida — larger than 25% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 53.0
Students per teacher 19.7:1 +8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 62.6% +20% vs state
NCES ID 120159001754
Student demographics
White 42.8%
Hispanic or Latino 33.3%
African American 19.5%
Two or More 3.3%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 42.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 294:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 50.1%
In-school suspensions 165
Out-of-school suspensions 210
Expulsions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Polk, which includes Bartow Middle School.
$12,580
Per student
-1%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 35.2%
State 43.8%
Federal 21.0%
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
- 3,105
- Students per teacher
- 20.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,731
- Students per teacher
- 27.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,648
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,632
- Students per teacher
- 23.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,469
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
Similar middle schools in Bartow
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 Bartow Middle School
How many students attend Bartow Middle School?
Bartow Middle School has 881 students enrolled. It is a middle school in BARTOW, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bartow Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bartow Middle School is 19.7:1, which is 8% higher than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 24% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bartow Middle School?
62.6% of students at Bartow Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bartow Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Bartow Middle School is White at 42.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in BARTOW, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bartow Middle School?
Bartow Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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.