Enrollment
746
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 510333001448
Cave Spring Middle — Roanoke, VA
Federal NCES profile for Cave Spring Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 25
📋 Attendance 66
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: Roanoke County Public Schools · Virginia
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)
53.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.4:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
+3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.3%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-54% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cave Spring Middle compares with Virginia 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 Spring Middle reports 746 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 53.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% above the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 27.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 54% below the Virginia average and 47% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 373 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Roanoke County Public Schools spends $14,015 per pupil district-wide, below the Virginia average of $16,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 41.4% from local sources (property taxes), 47.5% from the state, and 11.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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 Spring Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.4:1 | ▲ 3% | 14:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.3% | ▼ 54% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 746 | top 73% | — | — |
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
27.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 54% below the Virginia average of 59.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.4:1
students per teacher
— 3% above state mean
Top 60% in Virginia — lower ratio than 40% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
13.5%
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
$14,015
per pupil, district-wide
— below Virginia avg of $16,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 373 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
135
in-school suspensions + 30 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 18.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 22.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 746 Top 73% in Virginia — larger than 27% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 53.0
Students per teacher 14.4:1 +3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 27.3% -54% vs state
NCES ID 510333001448
Student demographics
White 75.2%
Asian 7.8%
Hispanic or Latino 7.5%
African American 5.1%
Two or More 4.4%
Largest group: White at 75.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 373:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.5%
In-school suspensions 135
Out-of-school suspensions 30
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Roanoke County Public Schools, which includes Cave Spring Middle.
$14,015
Per student
-14%
vs Virginia
Avg $16,211
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 41.4%
State 47.5%
Federal 11.1%
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
- 1,134
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,046
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 919
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 832
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Enrollment
- 802
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
Similar middle schools in Roanoke
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Breckinridge Middle
Standard public school
733 students 13.9:1 students per teacher
Northside Middle
Standard public school
648 students 12.8:1 students per teacher
Woodrow Wilson Middle
Standard public school
601 students 14.9:1 students per teacher
James Madison Middle
Standard public school
598 students 14.5:1 students per teacher
Hidden Valley Middle
Standard public school
581 students 13.8:1 students per teacher
Addison Aerospace Magnet Middle
Standard public school
540 students 10.9:1 students per teacher
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 Spring Middle
How many students attend Cave Spring Middle?
Cave Spring Middle has 746 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Roanoke, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cave Spring Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Cave Spring Middle is 14.4:1, which is 3% higher than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 9% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cave Spring Middle?
27.3% of students at Cave Spring Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cave Spring Middle?
The largest demographic group at Cave Spring Middle is White at 75.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Roanoke, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cave Spring Middle?
Cave Spring Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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.