Enrollment
1,426
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 130060000276
Buford Middle School — Buford, GA
Federal NCES profile for Buford Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 73
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: Buford City · Georgia
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)
82.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.4:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
+20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.4%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-53% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Buford Middle School compares with Georgia 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
Buford Middle School reports 1,426 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 82.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% above the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 53% below the Georgia average and 45% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 713 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Buford City spends $14,501 per pupil district-wide, below the Georgia average of $15,679 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 56.3% from local sources (property taxes), 34.1% from the state, and 9.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), 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 Buford Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.4:1 | ▲ 20% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.4% | ▼ 53% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,426 | top 91% | — | — |
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
28.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 53% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.4:1
students per teacher
— 20% above state mean
Top 90% in Georgia — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
10.9%
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
$14,501
per pupil, district-wide
— below Georgia avg of $15,679
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 713 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
169
in-school suspensions + 84 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 17.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 10 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,426 Top 91% in Georgia — larger than 9% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 82.0
Students per teacher 17.4:1 +20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.4% -53% vs state
NCES ID 130060000276
Student demographics
White 44.9%
Hispanic or Latino 26.9%
African American 11.9%
Asian 11.2%
Two or More 5.1%
Largest group: White at 44.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 713:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.9%
In-school suspensions 169
Out-of-school suspensions 84
Expulsions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Buford City, which includes Buford Middle School.
$14,501
Per student
-8%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 56.3%
State 34.1%
Federal 9.6%
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
- 1,966
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,368
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 816
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 431
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
Similar middle schools in Buford
2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 Buford Middle School
How many students attend Buford Middle School?
Buford Middle School has 1,426 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Buford, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buford Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Buford Middle School is 17.4:1, which is 20% higher than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Buford Middle School?
28.4% of students at Buford Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Buford Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Buford Middle School is White at 44.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Buford, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Buford Middle School?
Buford Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) 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.