Enrollment
1,333
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 190651000221
Cedar Falls High School — Cedar Falls, IA
Federal NCES profile for Cedar Falls High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 58/100.
👥 Class size 44
📚 AP courses 75
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 54
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: Cedar Falls Comm School District · Iowa
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)
94.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.9:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.0%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cedar Falls High School compares with Iowa 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
Cedar Falls High School reports 1,333 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 94.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% below the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 13% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 21.0% 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 Iowa average and 59% below the national baseline. The school offers 15 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 267 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cedar Falls Comm School District spends $18,542 per pupil district-wide, above the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.2% from local sources (property taxes), 51.4% from the state, and 9.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (C), 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 Cedar Falls High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.9:1 | ▼ 7% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.0% | ▼ 42% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,333 | 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
21.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 42% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.9:1
students per teacher
— 7% below state mean
Top 45% in Iowa — lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
18.4%
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
$18,542
per pupil, district-wide
— above Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 267 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
39
in-school suspensions + 115 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,333 Top 98% in Iowa — larger than 2% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 94.0
Students per teacher 13.9:1 -7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 21.0% -42% vs state
NCES ID 190651000221
Student demographics
White 84.3%
Two or More 5.7%
Hispanic or Latino 3.6%
African American 2.8%
Asian 2.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 84.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 15
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 267:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.4%
In-school suspensions 39
Out-of-school suspensions 115
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cedar Falls Comm School District, which includes Cedar Falls High School.
$18,542
Per student
+8%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.2%
State 51.4%
Federal 9.4%
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
- 695
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 628
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 569
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Enrollment
- 539
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Enrollment
- 472
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
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 Cedar Falls High School
How many students attend Cedar Falls High School?
Cedar Falls High School has 1,333 students enrolled. It is a high school in Cedar Falls, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cedar Falls High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cedar Falls High School is 13.9:1, which is 7% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 13% 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 Cedar Falls High School?
21.0% of students at Cedar Falls High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cedar Falls High School?
The largest demographic group at Cedar Falls High School is White at 84.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cedar Falls, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cedar Falls High School?
Cedar Falls High School has a Resource Investment Index of 58/100 (C) 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.