Enrollment
1,451
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 490036000207
Cottonwood High — Salt Lake City, UT
Federal NCES profile for Cottonwood High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 5
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 52
📋 Attendance 0
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: Granite District · Utah
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)
67.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.7:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
+3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.7%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
+49% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cottonwood High compares with Utah 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
Cottonwood High reports 1,451 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 67.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% above the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 49% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 41.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 49% above the Utah average and 19% below the national baseline. The school offers 22 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 242 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 43.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Granite District spends $12,342 per pupil district-wide, below the Utah average of $12,354 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 38.9% from local sources (property taxes), 45.7% from the state, and 15.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Cottonwood High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Utah state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.7:1 | ▲ 3% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.7% | ▲ 49% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,451 | top 93% | — | — |
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
41.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 49% above the Utah average of 28.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
23.7:1
students per teacher
— 3% above state mean
Top 68% in Utah — lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
43.2%
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
$12,342
per pupil, district-wide
— below Utah avg of $12,354
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 242 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 136 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,451 Top 93% in Utah — larger than 7% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 67.0
Students per teacher 23.7:1 +3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 41.7% +49% vs state
NCES ID 490036000207
Student demographics
White 40.8%
Hispanic or Latino 38.9%
African American 6.5%
Asian 6.0%
Two or More 5.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.4%
Largest group: White at 40.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 22
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 242:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 43.2%
In-school suspensions 10
Out-of-school suspensions 136
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Granite District, which includes Cottonwood High.
$12,342
Per student
0%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 38.9%
State 45.7%
Federal 15.4%
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
- 3,267
- Students per teacher
- 26:1
- Enrollment
- 2,762
- Students per teacher
- 26.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,685
- Students per teacher
- 26.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,480
- Students per teacher
- 25.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,313
- Students per teacher
- 25.9:1
Similar high schools in Salt Lake City
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Olympus High
Standard public school
2,151 students 24.4:1 students per teacher
Highland High
Standard public school
1,973 students 23.9:1 students per teacher
East High
Standard public school
1,764 students 22.2:1 students per teacher
Academy for Math Engineering & Science
Standard public school
460 students 19.7:1 students per teacher
Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts
Standard public school
203 students 18.5:1 students per teacher
Innovations High School
Standard public school
157 students 32.6:1 students per teacher
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 Cottonwood High
How many students attend Cottonwood High?
Cottonwood High has 1,451 students enrolled. It is a high school in SALT LAKE CITY, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood High?
The student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood High is 23.7:1, which is 3% higher than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 49% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cottonwood High?
41.7% of students at Cottonwood High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cottonwood High?
The largest demographic group at Cottonwood High is White at 40.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in SALT LAKE CITY, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cottonwood High?
Cottonwood High has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.