Enrollment
587
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 290537002423
Bolivar Middle — Bolivar, MO
Federal NCES profile for Bolivar Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 49
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 34
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 →
The verdict
Bolivar Middle earns a C- Resource Investment Index (53/100), with class sizes near the Missouri median.
- C-
- Resource Index · 53/100
- 12.8:1
- students per teacher
- 39.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 587
- students enrolled
School address
District: Bolivar R-I · Missouri
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)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
-1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
39.4%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-15% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bolivar Middle compares with Missouri 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
Bolivar Middle reports 587 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 47.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% below the Missouri state mean of 12.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 18% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 39.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 15% below the Missouri average and 24% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 196 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 26.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bolivar R-I spends $10,345 per pupil district-wide, below the Missouri average of $12,931 and below the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 41.3% from local sources (property taxes), 42.4% from the state, and 16.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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 Bolivar Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Missouri state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.8:1 | ▼ 1% | 12.9:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 39.4% | ▼ 15% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 587 | top 84% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
13 Among the smallest classes smaller classes than 71% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
587 larger than 71% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
39.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 15% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher
— 1% below state mean
Top 49% in Missouri — lower ratio than 51% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
26.4%
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
$10,345
per pupil, district-wide
— below Missouri avg of $12,931
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 196 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
89
in-school suspensions + 77 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 15.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 28.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 168 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 587 Top 84% in Missouri — larger than 16% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 47.0
Students per teacher 12.8:1 -1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 39.4% -15% vs state
NCES ID 290537002423
Student demographics
White 93.5%
Two or More 2.7%
African American 1.2%
Hispanic or Latino 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.2%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 93.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 196:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 26.4%
In-school suspensions 89
Out-of-school suspensions 77
Expulsions 168
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bolivar R-I, which includes Bolivar Middle.
$10,345
Per student
-20%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-38%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 41.3%
State 42.4%
Federal 16.3%
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
- 831
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 578
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Enrollment
- 572
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Enrollment
- 157
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
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 Bolivar Middle
How many students attend Bolivar Middle?
Bolivar Middle has 587 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Bolivar, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bolivar Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Bolivar Middle is 12.8:1, which is 1% lower than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bolivar Middle?
39.4% of students at Bolivar Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bolivar Middle?
The largest demographic group at Bolivar Middle is White at 93.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Bolivar, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bolivar Middle?
Bolivar Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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.
Is Bolivar Middle a good school?
Bolivar Middle earns a C- Resource Investment Index (53/100), with class sizes near the Missouri median. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.