Enrollment
398
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 220036000281
Caldwell Parish High School — Columbia, LA
Federal NCES profile for Caldwell Parish High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 48
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 20
📋 Attendance 78
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: Caldwell Parish · Louisiana
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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-30% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
54.9%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-12% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Caldwell Parish High School compares with Louisiana 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
Caldwell Parish High School reports 398 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 30% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, 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: 54.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 12% below the Louisiana average and 6% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 398 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 8.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Caldwell Parish spends $17,527 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.0% from local sources (property taxes), 48.1% from the state, and 23.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Caldwell Parish High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13:1 | ▼ 30% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 54.9% | ▼ 12% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 398 | top 44% | — | — |
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
54.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 12% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13:1
students per teacher
— 30% below state mean
Top 11% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
8.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$17,527
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 398 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
44
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 398 Top 44% in Louisiana — larger than 56% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 13:1 -30% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 54.9% -12% vs state
NCES ID 220036000281
Student demographics
White 77.9%
African American 13.8%
Two or More 4.3%
Hispanic or Latino 3.8%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 77.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 398:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 8.8%
In-school suspensions 44
Out-of-school suspensions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Caldwell Parish, which includes Caldwell Parish High School.
$17,527
Per student
-2%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.0%
State 48.1%
Federal 23.9%
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
- 294
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Enrollment
- 215
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Enrollment
- 212
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 191
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
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 Caldwell Parish High School
How many students attend Caldwell Parish High School?
Caldwell Parish High School has 398 students enrolled. It is a high school in Columbia, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Caldwell Parish High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Caldwell Parish High School is 13:1, which is 30% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 18% 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 Caldwell Parish High School?
54.9% of students at Caldwell Parish High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Caldwell Parish High School?
The largest demographic group at Caldwell Parish High School is White at 77.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Columbia, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Caldwell Parish High School?
Caldwell Parish High School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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.