Enrollment
572
Ohio · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 390438600840
Defiance Middle School — Defiance, OH
Federal NCES profile for Defiance Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 29
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 21
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: Defiance City · Ohio
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)
33.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.8:1
vs 18.3:1 Ohio avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
45.2%
vs 31.6% Ohio avg
+43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Defiance Middle School compares with Ohio 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
Defiance Middle School reports 572 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 33.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% below the Ohio state mean of 18.3:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 12% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 45.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 43% above the Ohio average and 13% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 286 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Defiance City spends $14,667 per pupil district-wide, below the Ohio average of $16,867 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 33.1% from local sources (property taxes), 51.8% from the state, and 15.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F), 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 Defiance Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Ohio state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Ohio | Ohio avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.8:1 | ▼ 3% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 45.2% | ▲ 43% | 31.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 572 | top 75% | — | — |
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
45.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 43% above the Ohio average of 31.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.8:1
students per teacher
— 3% below state mean
Top 53% in Ohio — lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
31.8%
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
$14,667
per pupil, district-wide
— below Ohio avg of $16,867
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 286 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
123
in-school suspensions + 12 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 21.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 23.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 572 Top 75% in Ohio — larger than 25% of 3,586 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 33.0
Students per teacher 17.8:1 -3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 45.2% +43% vs state
NCES ID 390438600840
Student demographics
White 67.3%
Hispanic or Latino 25.5%
African American 4.7%
Two or More 2.1%
Asian 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 67.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 286:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.8%
In-school suspensions 123
Out-of-school suspensions 12
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Defiance City, which includes Defiance Middle School.
$14,667
Per student
-13%
vs Ohio
Avg $16,867
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 33.1%
State 51.8%
Federal 15.1%
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
- 1,075
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 697
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
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 Defiance Middle School
How many students attend Defiance Middle School?
Defiance Middle School has 572 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Defiance, OH.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Defiance Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Defiance Middle School is 17.8:1, which is 3% lower than the Ohio average of 18.3:1 and 12% 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 Defiance Middle School?
45.2% of students at Defiance Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Ohio average of 31.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Defiance Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Defiance Middle School is White at 67.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Defiance, OH.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Defiance Middle School?
Defiance Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (F) 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.