Enrollment
1,653
Rhode Island · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 440024000045
Cranston High School West — Cranston, RI
Federal NCES profile for Cranston High School West, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 36
📚 AP courses 45
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 50
📋 Attendance 54
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
Cranston High School West earns a D Resource Investment Index (43/100), with class sizes larger than 88% of Rhode Island schools.
- D
- Resource Index · 43/100
- 15.9:1
- large classes for Rhode Island
- 20.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,653
- students enrolled
School address
District: Cranston · Rhode Island
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)
108.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.9:1
vs 13.4:1 Rhode Island avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
20.7%
vs 39.6% Rhode Island avg
-48% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cranston High School West compares with Rhode Island 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
Cranston High School West reports 1,653 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 108.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% above the Rhode Island state mean of 13.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 1% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 20.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 48% below the Rhode Island average and 60% below the national baseline. The school offers 9 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 251 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cranston spends $19,886 per pupil district-wide, below the Rhode Island average of $22,892 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 48.9% from local sources (property taxes), 40.3% from the state, and 10.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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 Cranston High School West compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Rhode Island state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Rhode Island | Rhode Island avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.9:1 | ▲ 19% | 13.4:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 20.7% | ▼ 48% | 39.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,653 | top 100% | — | — |
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)
16 smaller classes than 40% 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')
1,653 larger than 97% 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
20.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 48% below the Rhode Island average of 39.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.9:1
students per teacher
— 19% above state mean
Top 88% in Rhode Island — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$19,886
per pupil, district-wide
— below Rhode Island avg of $22,892
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors6.6 FTE
Per 250 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
61
in-school suspensions + 40 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,653 Top 100% in Rhode Island — larger than 0% of 309 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 108.0
Students per teacher 15.9:1 +19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 20.7% -48% vs state
NCES ID 440024000045
Student demographics
White 62.9%
Hispanic or Latino 21.9%
Asian 6.8%
Two or More 4.2%
African American 3.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 62.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 9
Counselors (FTE) 6.6
Students per counselor 251:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.3%
In-school suspensions 61
Out-of-school suspensions 40
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cranston, which includes Cranston High School West.
$19,886
Per student
-13%
vs Rhode Island
Avg $22,892
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 48.9%
State 40.3%
Federal 10.8%
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
- 1,525
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Enrollment
- 727
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Enrollment
- 711
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 530
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Enrollment
- 527
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
Similar high schools in Cranston
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Cranston High School West
How many students attend Cranston High School West?
Cranston High School West has 1,653 students enrolled. It is a high school in Cranston, RI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cranston High School West?
The student-teacher ratio at Cranston High School West is 15.9:1, which is 19% higher than the Rhode Island average of 13.4:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cranston High School West?
20.7% of students at Cranston High School West are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Rhode Island average of 39.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cranston High School West?
The largest demographic group at Cranston High School West is White at 62.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cranston, RI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cranston High School West?
Cranston High School West has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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.