Enrollment
259
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 050405001457 Charter school
Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory — Cave City, AR
Federal NCES profile for Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 59/100.
👥 Class size 59
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 67
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: Cave City School District · Arkansas
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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.3:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
62.2%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+5% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory compares with Arkansas 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
Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory reports 259 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 24% below the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 35% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 62.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 5% above the Arkansas average and 20% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 305 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cave City School District spends $12,576 per pupil district-wide, below the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 21.5% from local sources (property taxes), 56.1% from the state, and 22.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (C), 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 Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.3:1 | ▼ 24% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 62.2% | ▲ 5% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 259 | top 24% | — | — |
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
62.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 5% above the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.3:1
students per teacher
— 24% below state mean
Top 22% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
13.1%
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
$12,576
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.9 FTE
Per 305 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 259 Top 24% in Arkansas — larger than 76% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 10.3:1 -24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 62.2% +5% vs state
NCES ID 050405001457
Student demographics
White 88.8%
Hispanic or Latino 6.2%
African American 2.3%
Asian 1.2%
Two or More 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 88.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.9
Students per counselor 305:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.1%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cave City School District, which includes Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory.
$12,576
Per student
-12%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 21.5%
State 56.1%
Federal 22.5%
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
- 605
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Enrollment
- 375
- Students per teacher
- 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 Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory
How many students attend Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory?
Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory has 259 students enrolled. It is a middle school in CAVE CITY, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory?
The student-teacher ratio at Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory is 10.3:1, which is 24% lower than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 35% 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 Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory?
62.2% of students at Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory?
The largest demographic group at Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory is White at 88.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in CAVE CITY, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory?
Cave City Middle School Career and Collegiate Preparatory has a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (C) 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.