Enrollment
760
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 010033000087
Bessemer City High School — Bessemer, AL
Federal NCES profile for Bessemer City High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
👥 Class size 8
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 62
📋 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
District: Bessemer City · Alabama
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)
37.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
+29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
60.7%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bessemer City High School compares with Alabama 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
Bessemer City High School reports 760 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 37.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 29% above the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 45% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 60.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 3% above the Alabama average and 17% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 190 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 73.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bessemer City spends $14,480 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 27.2% from local sources (property taxes), 46.5% from the state, and 26.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F), 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 Bessemer City High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23:1 | ▲ 29% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 60.7% | ▲ 3% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 760 | top 84% | — | — |
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
60.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 3% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
23:1
students per teacher
— 29% above state mean
Top 97% in Alabama — lower ratio than 3% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
73.4%
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
$14,480
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 190 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 101 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 11 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 760 Top 84% in Alabama — larger than 16% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 37.0
Students per teacher 23:1 +29% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 60.7% +3% vs state
NCES ID 010033000087
Student demographics
African American 76.7%
Hispanic or Latino 21.8%
White 0.9%
Two or More 0.5%
Largest group: African American at 76.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 190:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 73.4%
In-school suspensions 11
Out-of-school suspensions 101
Expulsions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bessemer City, which includes Bessemer City High School.
$14,480
Per student
0%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 27.2%
State 46.5%
Federal 26.3%
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
- 616
- Students per teacher
- 25:1
- Enrollment
- 474
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 364
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 290
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 277
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
Similar high schools in Bessemer
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Bessemer City High School
How many students attend Bessemer City High School?
Bessemer City High School has 760 students enrolled. It is a high school in Bessemer, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bessemer City High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bessemer City High School is 23:1, which is 29% higher than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 45% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bessemer City High School?
60.7% of students at Bessemer City High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bessemer City High School?
The largest demographic group at Bessemer City High School is African American at 76.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bessemer, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bessemer City High School?
Bessemer City High School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) based on 5 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.