Enrollment
628
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 050306001462
Cooper Elementary School — Bella Vista, AR
Federal NCES profile for Cooper Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 18
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 37
📋 Attendance 33
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: Bentonville School District · Arkansas
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)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+51% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.4%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cooper Elementary School compares with Arkansas 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
Cooper Elementary School reports 628 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 32.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 51% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 29% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% below the Arkansas average and 64% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 314 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 26.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Bentonville School District spends $13,522 per pupil district-wide, below the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 53.7% from local sources (property taxes), 37.5% from the state, and 8.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D), 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 Cooper Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.5:1 | ▲ 51% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.4% | ▼ 69% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 628 | top 82% | — | — |
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
18.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.5:1
students per teacher
— 51% above state mean
Top 97% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 3% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
26.8%
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
$13,522
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 314 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 48 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 628 Top 82% in Arkansas — larger than 18% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 32.0
Students per teacher 20.5:1 +51% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.4% -69% vs state
NCES ID 050306001462
Student demographics
White 79.6%
Hispanic or Latino 12.9%
Two or More 4.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.8%
African American 0.6%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: White at 79.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 314:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 26.8%
In-school suspensions 19
Out-of-school suspensions 48
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bentonville School District, which includes Cooper Elementary School.
$13,522
Per student
-5%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 53.7%
State 37.5%
Federal 8.8%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,579
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,661
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Enrollment
- 846
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 725
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Enrollment
- 723
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
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 Cooper Elementary School
How many students attend Cooper Elementary School?
Cooper Elementary School has 628 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in BELLA VISTA, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cooper Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cooper Elementary School is 20.5:1, which is 51% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 29% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cooper Elementary School?
18.4% of students at Cooper Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cooper Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Cooper Elementary School is White at 79.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in BELLA VISTA, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cooper Elementary School?
Cooper Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (D) 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.