Enrollment
1,073
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 130012000027
David T Howard Middle School — Atlanta, GA
Federal NCES profile for David T Howard Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 56
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: Atlanta Public Schools · Georgia
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)
73.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.6%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
-69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How David T Howard Middle School compares with Georgia 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
David T Howard Middle School reports 1,073 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 73.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% above the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% below the Georgia average and 64% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 537 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Atlanta Public Schools spends $24,033 per pupil district-wide, above the Georgia average of $15,679 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 68.7% from local sources (property taxes), 15.6% from the state, and 15.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), 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 David T Howard Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▲ 6% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.6% | ▼ 69% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,073 | top 84% | — | — |
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
18.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
— 6% above state mean
Top 69% in Georgia — lower ratio than 31% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
17.7%
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
$24,033
per pupil, district-wide
— above Georgia avg of $15,679
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 537 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 89 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 8 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,073 Top 84% in Georgia — larger than 16% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 73.0
Students per teacher 15.3:1 +6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.6% -69% vs state
NCES ID 130012000027
Student demographics
White 49.8%
African American 28.0%
Hispanic or Latino 10.4%
Two or More 8.6%
Asian 2.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 49.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 537:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 89
Expulsions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Atlanta Public Schools, which includes David T Howard Middle School.
$24,033
Per student
+53%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 68.7%
State 15.6%
Federal 15.7%
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
- 2,368
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,696
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,619
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,549
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,338
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
Similar middle schools in Atlanta
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Sequoyah Middle School
Standard public school
1,713 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Willis a. Sutton Middle School
Standard public school
1,619 students 14.6:1 students per teacher
Peachtree Middle School
Standard public school
1,214 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
Sandtown Middle School
Standard public school
956 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
Ridgeview Charter School
Standard public school
945 students 12.5:1 students per teacher
Martin L. King Jr. Middle School
Standard public school
879 students 13.4:1 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 David T Howard Middle School
How many students attend David T Howard Middle School?
David T Howard Middle School has 1,073 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Atlanta, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at David T Howard Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at David T Howard Middle School is 15.3:1, which is 6% higher than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at David T Howard Middle School?
18.6% of students at David T Howard Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of David T Howard Middle School?
The largest demographic group at David T Howard Middle School is White at 49.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Atlanta, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for David T Howard Middle School?
David T Howard Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) 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.