Enrollment
511
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 290612000149
Buffalo High — Buffalo, MO
Federal NCES profile for Buffalo High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 35
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 66
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: Dallas Co. 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)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.2:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
+26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.5%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-6% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buffalo High 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
Buffalo High reports 511 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 35.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 26% above the Missouri state mean of 12.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 2% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 43.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 6% below the Missouri average and 16% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 256 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Dallas Co. R-I spends $12,450 per pupil district-wide, below the Missouri average of $15,248 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.6% from local sources (property taxes), 42.1% from the state, and 18.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D), 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 Buffalo High 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 | 16.2:1 | ▲ 26% | 12.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.5% | ▼ 6% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 511 | top 79% | — | — |
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
43.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 6% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher
— 26% above state mean
Top 89% in Missouri — lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.5%
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
$12,450
per pupil, district-wide
— below Missouri avg of $15,248
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 256 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
112
in-school suspensions + 27 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 21.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 27.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 511 Top 79% in Missouri — larger than 21% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 35.0
Students per teacher 16.2:1 +26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 43.5% -6% vs state
NCES ID 290612000149
Student demographics
White 90.2%
Hispanic or Latino 5.3%
Two or More 3.1%
African American 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 90.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 256:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.5%
In-school suspensions 112
Out-of-school suspensions 27
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dallas Co. R-I, which includes Buffalo High.
$12,450
Per student
-18%
vs Missouri
Avg $15,248
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.6%
State 42.1%
Federal 18.3%
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
- 599
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Enrollment
- 466
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
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 Buffalo High
How many students attend Buffalo High?
Buffalo High has 511 students enrolled. It is a high school in BUFFALO, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buffalo High?
The student-teacher ratio at Buffalo High is 16.2:1, which is 26% higher than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 2% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buffalo High?
43.5% of students at Buffalo High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buffalo High?
The largest demographic group at Buffalo High is White at 90.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in BUFFALO, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buffalo High?
Buffalo High has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) 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.