Enrollment
173
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 050498000221
Decatur High School — Decatur, AR
Federal NCES profile for Decatur High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 86
📚 AP courses 20
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 31
📋 Attendance 34
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: Decatur School District · Arkansas
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)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
3.6:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
-74% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Decatur High School compares with Arkansas 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
Decatur High School reports 173 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 47.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 3.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 74% below the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 77% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 100.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% above the Arkansas average and 93% above the national baseline. The school offers 4 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 346 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 26.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Decatur School District spends $18,228 per pupil district-wide, above the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.5% from local sources (property taxes), 44.1% from the state, and 23.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Decatur High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 3.6:1 | ▼ 74% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 69% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 173 | top 10% | — | — |
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
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% above the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
3.6:1
students per teacher
— 74% below state mean
Top 1% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 99% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
26.6%
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
$18,228
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 346 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
40
in-school suspensions + 59 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 23.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 57.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 173 Top 10% in Arkansas — larger than 90% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 47.0
Students per teacher 3.6:1 -74% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% +69% vs state
NCES ID 050498000221
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 41.0%
White 38.7%
Asian 11.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 4.0%
African American 2.3%
Two or More 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 41.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 4
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 346:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 26.6%
In-school suspensions 40
Out-of-school suspensions 59
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Decatur School District, which includes Decatur High School.
$18,228
Per student
+28%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 32.5%
State 44.1%
Federal 23.3%
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
- 278
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 162
- Students per teacher
- 8.9:1
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 Decatur High School
How many students attend Decatur High School?
Decatur High School has 173 students enrolled. It is a high school in DECATUR, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Decatur High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Decatur High School is 3.6:1, which is 74% lower than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 77% lower 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 Decatur High School?
100.0% of students at Decatur High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Decatur High School?
The largest demographic group at Decatur High School is Hispanic or Latino at 41.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in DECATUR, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Decatur High School?
Decatur High School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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.