Enrollment
166
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Colton, WA
Colton School
Federal NCES profile for Colton School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 530150000277
👥 S:T ratio 56
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 67
📋 Attendance 49
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Colton School earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 93% of Washington schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Washington schools.
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.1:1
- small classes for Washington
- 22.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 166
- students enrolled
Colton School has class sizes smaller than 93% of Washington schools. Computed live against every Washington school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Colton School District · Washington
NCES ID 530150000277 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.1:1
vs 17.6:1 Washington avg
-37% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
22.0%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Colton School compares with Washington and U.S. medians
What stands out at Colton School
Small campus with unusually lean teacher staffing
Colton School sits near the smaller end of the Washington enrollment distribution while also reporting a lower student-teacher ratio than most state schools. That pairing is consistent with a compact, teacher-dense setting, though small scale can limit the number of specialized courses or support roles a campus can sustain. The program and staffing sections below show whether the lean ratio extends beyond classroom teachers into broader student services.
Lower need and stronger resource signals align
Colton School reports lower free-meal eligibility than most Washington schools and an above-typical Resource Investment Index. The two measures move together, a pattern consistent with the resource advantages that often accompany a lower-need intake. That association should not be mistaken for a causal verdict about the school; it is a transparent description of how this campus sits on two independent federal-data dimensions.
A combined-grade campus has a different support burden
Colton School serves a combined grade span rather than a conventional elementary, middle, or high-school band. That structure can require the same campus to cover transitions, counseling needs, and programs for students at substantially different developmental stages, so a single staffing ratio deserves more caution than it would at a narrower-grade school. Federal totals show the available people and programs, but not how those resources are divided among grade levels.
Colton School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Colton, Washington, enrolling 166 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11.1:1, Colton School is leaner than roughly 93% of Washington schools and 37% under the state's 17.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 22.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 166 puts it in the smaller third of Washington schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,394 scored Washington schools.
Against 75 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #37.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 15/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 166 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.5% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Colton School District operates only this one school, so Colton School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Colton School compares
Colton School on the metrics families compare, against Washington and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.1:1 | ▼ 37% | 17.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 22.0% | ▼ 51% | 45.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 166 | top 76% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.1:1
Leaner classes than 82% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
166
Bigger than 16% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
22.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.1:1
students per teacher
- 37% below state mean
Top 7% in Washington - lower ratio than 93% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
20.5%
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
$22,387
per pupil, district-wide
- above Washington avg of $19,487
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 166 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
White 92.1%
Hispanic or Latino 6.1%
Two or More 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: White at 92.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 14.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 14.8, Colton School is less mixed than the Washington school average of 53.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Colton School District, which includes Colton School.
$22,387
Per student
+15%
vs Washington
Avg $19,487
+35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 23.6%
State 66.7%
Federal 9.7%
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.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Washington, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~166 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Colton School's federal record.
- Compare Colton School against another school. Compare schools
- Colton School District'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 Colton School
How many students attend Colton School?
Colton School has 166 students enrolled. It is a public school in Colton, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Colton School?
The student-teacher ratio at Colton School is 11.1:1, which is 37% lower than the Washington average of 17.6:1 and 29% 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 Colton School?
22.0% of students at Colton School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Colton School?
The largest demographic group at Colton School is White at 92.1% of enrollment, in Colton, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Colton School?
Colton School has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
What other schools are in Colton School District?
None reported; Colton School District operates only Colton School as a public school district in NCES's records.
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.