Middle school (grades 6-8) · Atlanta, GA

David T Howard Middle School

Federal NCES profile for David T Howard Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 130012000027
0/100100/10042/100
👥 S:T ratio
41
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
56
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

David T Howard Middle School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median.

#8 of 18
middle schools in Atlanta · Resource Index
42
Resource Index · Typical
14.7:1
students per teacher
18.6%
free-lunch eligible

David T Howard Middle School has class sizes near the Georgia median. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, David T Howard Middle School ranks #8 of 18 middle schools in Atlanta, GA.

School address

Enrollment

1,073

Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

73.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

14.7:1

vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg

+2% 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

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at David T Howard Middle School

David T Howard Middle School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized middle school in Atlanta, Georgia, enrolling 1,073 students.

At 14.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Georgia median, within a few percentage points of the 14.4:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 18.6% free-meal eligibility runs 69% below the Georgia average.

Enrollment of 1,073 puts it in the larger third of Georgia schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,314 scored Georgia schools.

Against 266 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #188.

Its student body is led by White (50%) and African American (28%) (diversity index 66/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 537 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

17.7% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

The surrounding Atlanta Public Schools spends $22,882 per pupil, 65% above the Georgia average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 15.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 8 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Atlanta's middle schools, it stands alongside Sequoyah Middle School (1,713 students): David T Howard Middle School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (14.7:1 vs 15.3:1).

Atlanta Public Schools also operates North Atlanta High School (2,368 students) and Midtown High School (1,696 students) alongside David T Howard Middle School.

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 David T Howard Middle School compares

David T Howard Middle School on the metrics families compare, against Georgia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Georgia Georgia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 14.7:1 ▲ 2% 14.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 18.6% ▼ 69% 60.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 1,073 top 16% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

14.7:1
Leaner classes than 50% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,073
Bigger than 92% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
18.6%
free-lunch eligible - 69% below the Georgia average of 60.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.7:1
students per teacher - 2% above state mean
Top 60% in Georgia - lower ratio than 40% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
17.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$22,882
per pupil, district-wide - above Georgia avg of $13,863
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially 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

  • 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 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.

Student-body diversity index 65.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 65.5, David T Howard Middle School is more mixed than the Georgia school average of 50.0.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Atlanta Public Schools, which includes David T Howard Middle School.

$22,882
Per student
+65%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
+38%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.

How David T Howard Middle School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
North Atlanta High School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Midtown High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Willis a. Sutton Middle School Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Maynard Jackson High School Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Benjamin E. Mays High School Similar size Higher economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to David T Howard Middle School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Atlanta Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Atlanta

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Georgia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on David T Howard Middle School's federal record.

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 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 14.7:1, which is 2% higher than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 6% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

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% of enrollment, in Atlanta, GA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 65.5/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for David T Howard Middle School?

David T Howard Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does David T Howard Middle School rank among middle schools in Atlanta?

By Resource Investment Index, David T Howard Middle School ranks #8 of 18 middle schools in Atlanta, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Atlanta on the city page.

Is David T Howard Middle School a good school?

David T Howard Middle School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median. 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 Atlanta Public Schools?

Besides David T Howard Middle School, Atlanta Public Schools also operates North Atlanta High School (2,368 students), Midtown High School (1,696 students), and Willis a. Sutton Middle School (1,619 students). See the Atlanta Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.