Enrollment
209
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 190438000113
Baxter Elementary School — Baxter, IA
Federal NCES profile for Baxter Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 60/100.
👥 Class size 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 72
📋 Attendance 57
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: Baxter Comm School District · Iowa
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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.4:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
23.0%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Baxter Elementary School compares with Iowa 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
Baxter Elementary School reports 209 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% below the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 23.0% 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 Iowa average and 56% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 139 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Baxter Comm School District spends $13,350 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 46.3% from local sources (property taxes), 43.7% from the state, and 10.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+), 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 Baxter Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.4:1 | ▼ 4% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 23.0% | ▼ 37% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 209 | top 26% | — | — |
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
23.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 37% 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
14.4:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 54% in Iowa — lower ratio than 46% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
17.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$13,350
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 139 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 209 Top 26% in Iowa — larger than 74% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 14.4:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 23.0% -37% vs state
NCES ID 190438000113
Student demographics
White 92.3%
Hispanic or Latino 4.3%
Two or More 1.9%
African American 1.0%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: White at 92.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 139:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.2%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Baxter Comm School District, which includes Baxter Elementary School.
$13,350
Per student
-22%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 46.3%
State 43.7%
Federal 10.0%
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
- 262
- Students per teacher
- 25.6:1
Similar other schools in Baxter
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Baxter Elementary School
How many students attend Baxter Elementary School?
Baxter Elementary School has 209 students enrolled. It is a other school in Baxter, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Baxter Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Baxter Elementary School is 14.4:1, which is 4% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 9% lower 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 Baxter Elementary School?
23.0% of students at Baxter Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Baxter Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Baxter Elementary School is White at 92.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Baxter, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Baxter Elementary School?
Baxter Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+) 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.