Enrollment
657
Colorado · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 080408000561
Carson Middle School — Fort Carson, CO
Federal NCES profile for Carson Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 55/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 56
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
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)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 16.9:1 Colorado avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
22.5%
vs 38.5% Colorado avg
-42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Carson Middle School compares with Colorado 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
Carson Middle School reports 657 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% below the Colorado state mean of 16.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 22.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 42% below the Colorado average and 57% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 219 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fountain School District No. 8 in the County of El Paso an spends $16,635 per pupil district-wide, below the Colorado average of $20,949 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 5.9% from local sources (property taxes), 56.6% from the state, and 37.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C), calculated from 3 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 Carson Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Colorado state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Colorado | Colorado avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▼ 9% | 16.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.5% | ▼ 42% | 38.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 657 | top 83% | — | — |
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
22.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 42% below the Colorado average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 41% in Colorado — lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$16,635
per pupil, district-wide
— below Colorado avg of $20,949
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 219 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
51
in-school suspensions + 148 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 30.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 657 Top 83% in Colorado — larger than 17% of 1,923 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 15.3:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 22.5% -42% vs state
NCES ID 080408000561
Student demographics
White 41.4%
Hispanic or Latino 29.5%
African American 13.2%
Two or More 9.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 3.3%
Asian 2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Largest group: White at 41.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 219:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 51
Out-of-school suspensions 148
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fountain School District No. 8 in the County of El Paso an, which includes Carson Middle School.
$16,635
Per student
-21%
vs Colorado
Avg $20,949
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 5.9%
State 56.6%
Federal 37.4%
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
- 1,974
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,051
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Enrollment
- 814
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 668
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 524
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
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 Carson Middle School
How many students attend Carson Middle School?
Carson Middle School has 657 students enrolled. It is a middle school in FORT CARSON, CO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Carson Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Carson Middle School is 15.3:1, which is 9% lower than the Colorado average of 16.9:1 and 4% 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 Carson Middle School?
22.5% of students at Carson Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Colorado average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Carson Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Carson Middle School is White at 41.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in FORT CARSON, CO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Carson Middle School?
Carson Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.