Enrollment
317
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 050324000086
Bismarck High School — Bismarck, AR
Federal NCES profile for Bismarck High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 80
📚 AP courses 15
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 37
📋 Attendance 54
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: Bismarck School District · Arkansas
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)
60.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
5.1:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
-63% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
48.4%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bismarck High School compares with Arkansas 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
Bismarck High School reports 317 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 60.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 5.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 63% below the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 68% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 48.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 18% below the Arkansas average and 7% below the national baseline. The school offers 3 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 317 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bismarck School District spends $12,718 per pupil district-wide, below the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.8% from local sources (property taxes), 46.5% from the state, and 27.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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 Bismarck High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 5.1:1 | ▼ 63% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 48.4% | ▼ 18% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 317 | top 36% | — | — |
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
48.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 18% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
5.1:1
students per teacher
— 63% below state mean
Top 4% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
18.3%
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
$12,718
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 317 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
51
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 16.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 20.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 317 Top 36% in Arkansas — larger than 64% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 60.0
Students per teacher 5.1:1 -63% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 48.4% -18% vs state
NCES ID 050324000086
Student demographics
White 91.2%
Hispanic or Latino 5.0%
African American 0.9%
Asian 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Two or More 0.9%
Largest group: White at 91.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 3
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 317:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.3%
In-school suspensions 51
Out-of-school suspensions 15
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bismarck School District, which includes Bismarck High School.
$12,718
Per student
-11%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.8%
State 46.5%
Federal 27.7%
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
- 379
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 338
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
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 Bismarck High School
How many students attend Bismarck High School?
Bismarck High School has 317 students enrolled. It is a high school in BISMARCK, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bismarck High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Bismarck High School is 5.1:1, which is 63% lower than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 68% 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 Bismarck High School?
48.4% of students at Bismarck High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bismarck High School?
The largest demographic group at Bismarck High School is White at 91.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in BISMARCK, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bismarck High School?
Bismarck High School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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.