Enrollment
447
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Dexter, MO
Central Elem.
Federal NCES profile for Central Elem., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 291077000361
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 11
📋 Attendance 90
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Central Elem. earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri median.
- #1 of 6
- public schools in Dexter · Resource Index
- 55
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.4:1
- students per teacher
- 44.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Central Elem. has class sizes near the Missouri median. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Central Elem. ranks #1 of 6 public schools in Dexter, MO.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.6%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Central Elem. compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Central Elem.
Central Elem. is a mid-sized elementary school in Dexter, Missouri, enrolling 447 students.
At 12.4:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Missouri median, within a few percentage points of the 12.8:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 44.6% lands close to the Missouri typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 447 puts it in the larger third of Missouri schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,313 scored Missouri schools.
Against 461 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #68.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment) (diversity index 16/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 447 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 4.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
The surrounding Dexter R-Xi spends $9,912 per pupil, 23% below the Missouri average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 19.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 90 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 447 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Dexter R-Xi also operates Dexter High (553 students) and T. S. Hill Middle (475 students) alongside Central Elem..
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Central Elem. compares
Central Elem. on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.4:1 | ▼ 3% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.6% | ▼ 3% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 447 | top 27% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
447
Bigger than 54% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
44.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 3% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 3% below state mean
Top 46% in Missouri - lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
4.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$9,912
per pupil, district-wide
- below Missouri avg of $12,931
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 447 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
46
in-school suspensions + 44 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 20.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 91.7%
Hispanic or Latino 5.1%
Two or More 2.2%
African American 0.7%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 91.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 15.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 15.6, Central Elem. is less mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dexter R-Xi, which includes Central Elem..
$9,912
Per student
-23%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 46.0%
State 34.7%
Federal 19.3%
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.
How Central Elem. Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dexter High | Similar size | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| T. S. Hill Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southwest Elem. | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Southwest Elementary Preschool | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Central Elem.'s own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 553
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 475
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 441
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 92
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~447 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Central Elem.'s federal record.
- Compare Central Elem. against another school. Compare schools
- Dexter R-Xi's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Central Elem.
How many students attend Central Elem.?
Central Elem. has 447 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Dexter, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central Elem.?
The student-teacher ratio at Central Elem. is 12.4:1, which is 3% lower than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 21% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Central Elem.?
44.6% of students at Central Elem. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Central Elem.?
The largest demographic group at Central Elem. is White at 91.7% of enrollment, in Dexter, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Central Elem.?
Central Elem. has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Central Elem. rank among public schools in Dexter?
By Resource Investment Index, Central Elem. ranks #1 of 6 public schools in Dexter, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Dexter on the city page.
Is Central Elem. a good school?
Central Elem. earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Missouri median. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Dexter R-Xi?
Besides Central Elem., Dexter R-Xi also operates Dexter High (553 students), T. S. Hill Middle (475 students), and Southwest Elem. (441 students). See the Dexter R-Xi district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.