Enrollment
628
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Bella Vista, AR
Cooper Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Cooper Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 050306001462
👥 S:T ratio 22
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 37
📋 Attendance 33
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cooper Elementary School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of Arkansas schools.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 19.6:1
- large classes for Arkansas
- 18.4%
- free-lunch eligible
- 628
- students enrolled
Cooper Elementary School has class sizes larger than 94% of Arkansas schools. Computed live against every Arkansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Bentonville School District · Arkansas
NCES ID 050306001462 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.6:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+44% 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
What stands out at Cooper Elementary School
Cooper Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Bella Vista, Arkansas, enrolling 628 students.
Class loads run heavy: 19.6:1 is larger than about 94% of Arkansas schools and 44% above the 13.6:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 18.4% free-meal eligibility runs 69% below the Arkansas average.
Enrollment of 628 puts it in the larger third of Arkansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,066 scored Arkansas schools.
Against 134 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #83.
Its student body is led by White (80%) and Hispanic or Latino (13%) (diversity index 35/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 314 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Bentonville School District also operates Bentonville High School (3,579 students) and Bentonville West High School (2,661 students) alongside Cooper Elementary 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 Cooper Elementary School compares
Cooper Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Arkansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.6:1 | ▲ 44% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.4% | ▼ 69% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 628 | top 18% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
19.6:1
Leaner classes than 17% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
628
Bigger than 75% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
18.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 69% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.6:1
students per teacher
- 44% above state mean
Top 94% in Arkansas - lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
26.8%
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
$11,698
per pupil, district-wide
- below Arkansas avg of $12,251
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that 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
- 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.
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.
Student-body diversity index 34.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 34.7, Cooper Elementary School is less mixed than the Arkansas school average of 40.4.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Bentonville School District, which includes Cooper Elementary School.
$11,698
Per student
-5%
vs Arkansas
Avg $12,251
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.
How Cooper Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bentonville High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Bentonville West High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Grimsley Junior High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Centerton Gamble Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Lincoln Junior High School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cooper Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,579
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 53/100
- Enrollment
- 2,661
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 846
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 725
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 723
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arkansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~628 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~19.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cooper Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Cooper Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Bentonville 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 Cooper Elementary School
How many students attend Cooper Elementary School?
Cooper Elementary School has 628 students enrolled. It is an 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 19.6:1, which is 44% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 25% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
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% of enrollment, 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 (typical 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 Cooper Elementary School a good school?
Cooper Elementary School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of Arkansas schools. 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 Bentonville School District?
Besides Cooper Elementary School, Bentonville School District also operates Bentonville High School (3,579 students), Bentonville West High School (2,661 students), and Grimsley Junior High School (846 students). See the Bentonville School District 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.