Enrollment
997
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 510126000453
Cooper Middle — Mclean, VA
Federal NCES profile for Cooper Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 61/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 60
📋 Attendance 80
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 →
The verdict
Cooper Middle earns a C+ Resource Investment Index (61/100), with class sizes larger than 89% of Virginia schools.
- C+
- Resource Index · 61/100
- 16.5:1
- large classes for Virginia
- 3.6%
- free-lunch eligible
- 997
- students enrolled
School address
District: Fairfax County Public Schools · Virginia
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)
64.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
+18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
3.6%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-94% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cooper Middle compares with Virginia 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 Middle reports 997 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 64.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 18% above the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 5% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 3.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 94% below the Virginia average and 93% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 199 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 8.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fairfax County Public Schools spends $17,977 per pupil district-wide, above the Virginia average of $14,649 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 66.6% from local sources (property taxes), 23.3% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 61/100 (C+), 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 Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▲ 18% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 3.6% | ▼ 94% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 997 | top 85% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
17 smaller classes than 35% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
997 larger than 91% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
3.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 94% below the Virginia average of 59.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher
— 18% above state mean
Top 89% in Virginia — lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
8.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$17,977
per pupil, district-wide
— above Virginia avg of $14,649
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 199 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 997 Top 85% in Virginia — larger than 15% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 64.0
Students per teacher 16.5:1 +18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 3.6% -94% vs state
NCES ID 510126000453
Student demographics
White 47.9%
Asian 32.9%
Two or More 9.5%
Hispanic or Latino 7.5%
African American 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 47.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 199:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 8.0%
In-school suspensions 31
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairfax County Public Schools, which includes Cooper Middle.
$17,977
Per student
+23%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.6%
State 23.3%
Federal 10.1%
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
- 4,411
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,710
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 3,256
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,937
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,799
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
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 Middle
How many students attend Cooper Middle?
Cooper Middle has 997 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mclean, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cooper Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Cooper Middle is 16.5:1, which is 18% higher than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cooper Middle?
3.6% of students at Cooper Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cooper Middle?
The largest demographic group at Cooper Middle is White at 47.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mclean, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cooper Middle?
Cooper Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 61/100 (C+) 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.
Is Cooper Middle a good school?
Cooper Middle earns a C+ Resource Investment Index (61/100), with class sizes larger than 89% of Virginia schools. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.