Enrollment
1,014
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 010099000370
Cullman High School — Cullman, AL
Federal NCES profile for Cullman High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 35
📚 AP courses 55
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 32
📋 Attendance 48
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: Cullman City · Alabama
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)
61.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
26.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-55% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cullman High School compares with Alabama 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
Cullman High School reports 1,014 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 61.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 26.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 55% below the Alabama average and 49% below the national baseline. The school offers 11 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 338 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Cullman City spends $16,175 per pupil district-wide, above the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 37.0% from local sources (property taxes), 49.2% from the state, and 13.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Cullman High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.3:1 | ▼ 8% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 26.3% | ▼ 55% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,014 | 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
26.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 55% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 27% in Alabama — lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
20.9%
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
$16,175
per pupil, district-wide
— above Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 338 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
22
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,014 Top 93% in Alabama — larger than 7% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 61.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 26.3% -55% vs state
NCES ID 010099000370
Student demographics
White 85.0%
Hispanic or Latino 9.9%
Two or More 2.4%
Asian 1.8%
African American 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 85.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 11
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 338:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.9%
In-school suspensions 22
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Cullman City, which includes Cullman High School.
$16,175
Per student
+12%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 37.0%
State 49.2%
Federal 13.7%
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
- 782
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Enrollment
- 491
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 490
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 466
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
Similar high schools in Cullman
3 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 Cullman High School
How many students attend Cullman High School?
Cullman High School has 1,014 students enrolled. It is a high school in Cullman, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cullman High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Cullman High School is 16.3:1, which is 8% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cullman High School?
26.3% of students at Cullman High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cullman High School?
The largest demographic group at Cullman High School is White at 85.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cullman, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cullman High School?
Cullman High School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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.