Enrollment
1,299
Ohio · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 390467402638
Big Walnut High School — Sunbury, OH
Federal NCES profile for Big Walnut High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 32/100.
👥 Class size 16
📚 AP courses 50
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 13
📋 Attendance 51
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: Big Walnut Local · Ohio
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)
58.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.1:1
vs 18.3:1 Ohio avg
+15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
10.8%
vs 31.6% Ohio avg
-66% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Big Walnut High School compares with Ohio 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
Big Walnut High School reports 1,299 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 58.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% above the Ohio 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 33% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 10.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 66% below the Ohio average and 79% below the national baseline. The school offers 10 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 433 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Big Walnut Local spends $19,047 per pupil district-wide, above the Ohio average of $16,867 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 76.4% from local sources (property taxes), 16.9% from the state, and 6.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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 Big Walnut High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Ohio state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Ohio | Ohio avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.1:1 | ▲ 15% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 10.8% | ▼ 66% | 31.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,299 | top 97% | — | — |
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
10.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 66% below the Ohio average of 31.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.1:1
students per teacher
— 15% above state mean
Top 83% in Ohio — lower ratio than 17% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
19.5%
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
$19,047
per pupil, district-wide
— above Ohio avg of $16,867
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 433 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
46
in-school suspensions + 35 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,299 Top 97% in Ohio — larger than 3% of 3,586 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 58.0
Students per teacher 21.1:1 +15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 10.8% -66% vs state
NCES ID 390467402638
Student demographics
White 88.0%
Hispanic or Latino 5.4%
Two or More 3.1%
Asian 1.8%
African American 1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 88.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 10
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 433:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.5%
In-school suspensions 46
Out-of-school suspensions 35
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Big Walnut Local, which includes Big Walnut High School.
$19,047
Per student
+13%
vs Ohio
Avg $16,867
-2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 76.4%
State 16.9%
Federal 6.7%
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
- 973
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Enrollment
- 663
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Enrollment
- 352
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 296
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 295
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
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 Big Walnut High School
How many students attend Big Walnut High School?
Big Walnut High School has 1,299 students enrolled. It is a high school in Sunbury, OH.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Walnut High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Big Walnut High School is 21.1:1, which is 15% higher than the Ohio average of 18.3:1 and 33% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Big Walnut High School?
10.8% of students at Big Walnut High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Ohio average of 31.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Big Walnut High School?
The largest demographic group at Big Walnut High School is White at 88.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sunbury, OH.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Big Walnut High School?
Big Walnut High School has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (F) 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.