Enrollment
324
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cotter, AR
Cotter High School
Federal NCES profile for Cotter High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 050468000194
👥 S:T ratio 78
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 35
📋 Attendance 42
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cotter High School earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Arkansas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Arkansas schools.
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 5.5:1
- small classes for Arkansas
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 324
- students enrolled
Cotter High School has class sizes smaller than 95% of Arkansas schools. Computed live against every Arkansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Cotter School District · Arkansas
NCES ID 050468000194 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
59.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
5.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
-60% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cotter High School compares with Arkansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cotter High School
Cotter High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Cotter, Arkansas, enrolling 324 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 5.5:1, Cotter High School is leaner than roughly 95% of Arkansas schools and 60% under the state's 13.6:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 100.0% of students eligible for free meals.
With 324 students, its enrollment sits close to the Arkansas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,066 scored Arkansas schools.
Against 156 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #36.
Its student body is predominantly White (94% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 11/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 324 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.1% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 21.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 70 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 324 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Its district, Cotter School District, also runs Amanda Gist Elementary School (374 students).
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 Cotter High School compares
Cotter High 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 | 5.5:1 | ▼ 60% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 69% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 324 | top 63% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
5.5:1
Leaner classes than 98% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
324
Bigger than 36% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 69% above the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
5.5:1
students per teacher
- 60% below state mean
Top 5% in Arkansas - lower ratio than 95% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
23.1%
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
$10,605
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 324 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
37
in-school suspensions + 33 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.6 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 94.4%
Hispanic or Latino 3.1%
African American 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: White at 94.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 10.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 10.8, Cotter High School is less mixed than the Arkansas school average of 40.4.
Programs
AP courses offered 6
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cotter School District, which includes Cotter High School.
$10,605
Per student
-13%
vs Arkansas
Avg $12,251
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.7%
State 54.2%
Federal 21.1%
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.
How Cotter High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda Gist Elementary School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cotter High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 374
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
Similar other 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 (~324 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~5.5:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cotter High School's federal record.
- Compare Cotter High School against another school. Compare schools
- Cotter 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 Cotter High School
How many students attend Cotter High School?
Cotter High School has 324 students enrolled. It is a public school in Cotter, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cotter High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cotter High School is 5.5:1, which is 60% lower than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 65% 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 Cotter High School?
100.0% of students at Cotter High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cotter High School?
The largest demographic group at Cotter High School is White at 94.4% of enrollment, in Cotter, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cotter High School?
Cotter High School has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Cotter High School a good school?
Cotter High School earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Arkansas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Cotter School District?
Besides Cotter High School, Cotter School District also operates Amanda Gist Elementary School (374 students). See the Cotter 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.