Enrollment
167
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Coldwater, MS
Coldwater High School
Federal NCES profile for Coldwater High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 27/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 280423001508
👥 S:T ratio 44
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 33
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Coldwater High School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi median.
- 27
- Resource Index · Lower
- 13.9:1
- students per teacher
- 88.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 167
- students enrolled
Coldwater High School has class sizes near the Mississippi median. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Tate Co School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280423001508 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
12.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.9:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
88.0%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Coldwater High School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Coldwater High School
Coldwater High School is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Coldwater, Mississippi, enrolling 167 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 13.9:1 puts it in the larger third of Mississippi schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 88.0% lands close to the Mississippi typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 94% of Mississippi schools, with 167 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 92% of the 877 Mississippi schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 98 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Mississippi schools statewide, it ranks #97, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 334 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 59.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 27.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 125 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 167 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 3 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Among Coldwater's public schools, it stands alongside Independence High School (507 students): Coldwater High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.9:1 vs 15.4:1).
Tate Co School Dist also operates Independence High School (507 students) and East Tate Elementary School (473 students) alongside Coldwater High School.
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 Coldwater High School compares
Coldwater High School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.9:1 | ▲ 5% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 88.0% | ▲ 9% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 167 | top 94% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.9:1
Leaner classes than 58% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
167
Bigger than 16% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
88.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 9% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.9:1
students per teacher
- 5% above state mean
Top 63% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
59.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$10,486
per pupil, district-wide
- below Mississippi avg of $11,990
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
63
in-school suspensions + 62 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 37.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 74.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
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.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tate Co School Dist, which includes Coldwater High School.
$10,486
Per student
-13%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.9%
State 49.3%
Federal 27.8%
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 Coldwater High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Independence High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| East Tate Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Strayhorn Elementary School | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Strayhorn High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Coldwater Elementary School | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Coldwater High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 507
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 17/100
- Enrollment
- 473
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 407
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
- Enrollment
- 404
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Resource Index
- 19/100
- Enrollment
- 213
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar other schools in Coldwater
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~167 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Coldwater High School's federal record.
- Compare Coldwater High School against another school. Compare schools
- Tate Co School Dist'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 Coldwater High School
How many students attend Coldwater High School?
Coldwater High School has 167 students enrolled. It is a public school in Coldwater, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Coldwater High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Coldwater High School is 13.9:1, which is 5% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Coldwater High School?
88.0% of students at Coldwater High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Coldwater High School?
Coldwater High School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (lower 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).
Is Coldwater High School a good school?
Coldwater High School earns 27/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Mississippi 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 Tate Co School Dist?
Besides Coldwater High School, Tate Co School Dist also operates Independence High School (507 students), East Tate Elementary School (473 students), and Strayhorn Elementary School (407 students). See the Tate Co School Dist 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.