Enrollment
1,322
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 530618000923
Capital High School — Olympia, WA
Federal NCES profile for Capital High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 13
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 45
📋 Attendance 55
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: Olympia School District · Washington
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)
61.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.7:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
30.5%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-32% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Capital High School compares with Washington 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
Capital High School reports 1,322 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 61.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% above the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 36% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 30.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 32% below the Washington average and 41% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 276 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Olympia School District spends $19,238 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.4% from local sources (property taxes), 60.5% from the state, and 9.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F), 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 Capital High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.7:1 | ▲ 22% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 30.5% | ▼ 32% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,322 | top 95% | — | — |
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
30.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 32% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.7:1
students per teacher
— 22% above state mean
Top 88% in Washington — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
18.2%
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
$19,238
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.8 FTE
Per 276 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
18
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 24 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,322 Top 95% in Washington — larger than 5% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 61.0
Students per teacher 21.7:1 +22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 30.5% -32% vs state
NCES ID 530618000923
Student demographics
White 58.6%
Hispanic or Latino 16.4%
Two or More 11.3%
Asian 5.9%
African American 5.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.7%
Largest group: White at 58.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.8
Students per counselor 276:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.2%
In-school suspensions 18
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Expulsions 24
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Olympia School District, which includes Capital High School.
$19,238
Per student
-17%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.4%
State 60.5%
Federal 9.0%
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
- 1,901
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Enrollment
- 702
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 469
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 462
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 434
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
Similar high schools in Olympia
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Capital High School
How many students attend Capital High School?
Capital High School has 1,322 students enrolled. It is a high school in OLYMPIA, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Capital High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Capital High School is 21.7:1, which is 22% higher than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 36% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Capital High School?
30.5% of students at Capital High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Capital High School?
The largest demographic group at Capital High School is White at 58.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in OLYMPIA, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Capital High School?
Capital High School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) 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.