Enrollment
425
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 010180001774
Challenger Middle School — Huntsville, AL
Federal NCES profile for Challenger Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 33
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 15
📋 Attendance 89
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: Huntsville City · Alabama
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)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.8:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.1%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Challenger Middle School compares with Alabama 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
Challenger Middle School reports 425 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 26.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 6% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 41.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% below the Alabama average and 21% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 425 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 4.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Huntsville City spends $13,040 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 43.6% from local sources (property taxes), 39.2% from the state, and 17.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (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 Challenger Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.8:1 | ▼ 6% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.1% | ▼ 30% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 425 | top 41% | — | — |
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
41.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.8:1
students per teacher
— 6% below state mean
Top 35% in Alabama — lower ratio than 65% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
4.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$13,040
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 425 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
21
in-school suspensions + 31 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 425 Top 41% in Alabama — larger than 59% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 26.0
Students per teacher 16.8:1 -6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 41.1% -30% vs state
NCES ID 010180001774
Student demographics
White 51.5%
African American 22.8%
Hispanic or Latino 15.5%
Two or More 6.8%
Asian 3.3%
Largest group: White at 51.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 425:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 4.2%
In-school suspensions 21
Out-of-school suspensions 31
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Huntsville City, which includes Challenger Middle School.
$13,040
Per student
-10%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 43.6%
State 39.2%
Federal 17.2%
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
- 1,847
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 1,807
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,152
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 935
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 916
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
Similar middle schools in Huntsville
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Monrovia Middle School
Standard public school
988 students 20.1:1 students per teacher
Williams Middle School
Standard public school
659 students 17.1:1 students per teacher
Whitesburg Middle School
Standard public school
535 students 19.3:1 students per teacher
Huntsville Junior High School
Standard public school
530 students 19:1 students per teacher
Morris Middle School
Standard public school
397 students 18.1:1 students per teacher
Ronald Mcnair 78
Standard public school
390 students 23:1 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 Challenger Middle School
How many students attend Challenger Middle School?
Challenger Middle School has 425 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Huntsville, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Challenger Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Challenger Middle School is 16.8:1, which is 6% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 6% higher 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 Challenger Middle School?
41.1% of students at Challenger Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Challenger Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Challenger Middle School is White at 51.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Huntsville, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Challenger Middle School?
Challenger Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (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.