Enrollment
888
Michigan · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 263516007072
Clifford H Smart Middle School — Commerce Township, MI
Federal NCES profile for Clifford H Smart Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 27/100.
👥 Class size 9
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 41
📋 Attendance 27
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: Walled Lake Consolidated Schools · Michigan
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)
41.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.8:1
vs 18.2:1 Michigan avg
+25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.8%
vs 54.3% Michigan avg
-64% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Clifford H Smart Middle School compares with Michigan 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
Clifford H Smart Middle School reports 888 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 41.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% above the Michigan state mean of 18.2:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 43% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 64% below the Michigan average and 62% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 296 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Walled Lake Consolidated Schools spends $21,318 per pupil district-wide, above the Michigan average of $15,842 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.5% from local sources (property taxes), 50.6% from the state, and 10.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F), 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 Clifford H Smart Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Michigan state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Michigan | Michigan avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.8:1 | ▲ 25% | 18.2:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.8% | ▼ 64% | 54.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 888 | top 94% | — | — |
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
19.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 64% below the Michigan average of 54.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
22.8:1
students per teacher
— 25% above state mean
Top 92% in Michigan — lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
29.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$21,318
per pupil, district-wide
— above Michigan avg of $15,842
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 296 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
65
in-school suspensions + 56 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 888 Top 94% in Michigan — larger than 6% of 3,399 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 41.0
Students per teacher 22.8:1 +25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.8% -64% vs state
NCES ID 263516007072
Student demographics
White 83.7%
Hispanic or Latino 5.6%
Two or More 4.8%
African American 2.9%
Asian 2.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 83.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 296:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.2%
In-school suspensions 65
Out-of-school suspensions 56
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, which includes Clifford H Smart Middle School.
$21,318
Per student
+35%
vs Michigan
Avg $15,842
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.5%
State 50.6%
Federal 10.0%
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
- 1,383
- Students per teacher
- 22.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,182
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,033
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Enrollment
- 641
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 620
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
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 Clifford H Smart Middle School
How many students attend Clifford H Smart Middle School?
Clifford H Smart Middle School has 888 students enrolled. It is a middle school in COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, MI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Clifford H Smart Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Clifford H Smart Middle School is 22.8:1, which is 25% higher than the Michigan average of 18.2:1 and 43% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Clifford H Smart Middle School?
19.8% of students at Clifford H Smart Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Michigan average of 54.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Clifford H Smart Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Clifford H Smart Middle School is White at 83.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, MI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Clifford H Smart Middle School?
Clifford H Smart Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F) 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.