Enrollment
1,626
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 290746000211
Carthage High School — Carthage, MO
Federal NCES profile for Carthage High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 28
📚 AP courses 40
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 19
📋 Attendance 51
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: Carthage R-Ix · 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)
89.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.1:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
+40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
50.9%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Carthage High School 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
Carthage High School reports 1,626 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 89.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 40% 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 14% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 50.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 10% above the Missouri average and 2% below the national baseline. The school offers 8 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 407 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Carthage R-Ix spends $12,864 per pupil district-wide, below the Missouri average of $15,248 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 36.2% from local sources (property taxes), 46.4% from the state, and 17.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Carthage High School 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 | 18.1:1 | ▲ 40% | 12.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 50.9% | ▲ 10% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,626 | top 98% | — | — |
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
50.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 10% above the Missouri average of 46.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.1:1
students per teacher
— 40% above state mean
Top 96% in Missouri — lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.6%
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
$12,864
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 407 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
236
in-school suspensions + 68 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 14.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 6 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,626 Top 98% in Missouri — larger than 2% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 89.0
Students per teacher 18.1:1 +40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 50.9% +10% vs state
NCES ID 290746000211
Student demographics
White 48.3%
Hispanic or Latino 47.2%
Two or More 2.6%
African American 0.6%
Asian 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 48.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 8
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 407:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.6%
In-school suspensions 236
Out-of-school suspensions 68
Expulsions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Carthage R-Ix, which includes Carthage High School.
$12,864
Per student
-16%
vs Missouri
Avg $15,248
-34%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 36.2%
State 46.4%
Federal 17.3%
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
- 773
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 664
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Enrollment
- 444
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Enrollment
- 398
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Enrollment
- 377
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
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 Carthage High School
How many students attend Carthage High School?
Carthage High School has 1,626 students enrolled. It is a high school in CARTHAGE, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Carthage High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Carthage High School is 18.1:1, which is 40% higher than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 14% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Carthage High School?
50.9% of students at Carthage High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Carthage High School?
The largest demographic group at Carthage High School is White at 48.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in CARTHAGE, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Carthage High School?
Carthage High School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.