Enrollment
193
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 190738000348
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School — Clarion, IA
Federal NCES profile for Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 54/100.
👥 Class size 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 55
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: Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 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)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.5:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
+17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
46.1%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+27% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle 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
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School reports 193 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 11.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 17% above the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 10% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 46.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 27% above the Iowa average and 11% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 193 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Comm School District spends $22,365 per pupil district-wide, above the Iowa average of $17,211 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 46.3% from local sources (property taxes), 42.1% from the state, and 11.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle 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 | 17.5:1 | ▲ 17% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 46.1% | ▲ 27% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 193 | top 22% | — | — |
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
46.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 27% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.5:1
students per teacher
— 17% above state mean
Top 88% in Iowa — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.1%
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
$22,365
per pupil, district-wide
— above Iowa avg of $17,211
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 193 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 193 Top 22% in Iowa — larger than 78% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 11.0
Students per teacher 17.5:1 +17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 46.1% +27% vs state
NCES ID 190738000348
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 193:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.1%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Comm School District, which includes Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School.
$22,365
Per student
+30%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
+15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 46.3%
State 42.1%
Federal 11.6%
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
- 469
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 291
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
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 Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School
How many students attend Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School?
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School has 193 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Clarion, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School is 17.5:1, which is 17% higher than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 10% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School?
46.1% of students at Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School?
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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.