Enrollment
906
Washington · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 530393000598
Desert Hills Middle School — Kennewick, WA
Federal NCES profile for Desert Hills Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 15
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 9
📋 Attendance 95
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: Kennewick School District · Washington
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)
42.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.2:1
vs 17.8:1 Washington avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.0%
vs 45.0% Washington avg
-47% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Desert Hills Middle School compares with Washington 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
Desert Hills Middle School reports 906 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 42.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% above the Washington state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 33% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 47% below the Washington average and 54% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 453 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 2.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Kennewick School District spends $16,581 per pupil district-wide, below the Washington average of $23,175 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 13.1% from local sources (property taxes), 74.5% from the state, and 12.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 Desert Hills Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Washington state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Washington | Washington avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.2:1 | ▲ 19% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.0% | ▼ 47% | 45.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 906 | top 92% | — | — |
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
24.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 47% below the Washington average of 45.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.2:1
students per teacher
— 19% above state mean
Top 86% in Washington — lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
2.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$16,581
per pupil, district-wide
— below Washington avg of $23,175
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 453 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
49
in-school suspensions + 48 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 906 Top 92% in Washington — larger than 8% of 2,465 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 42.0
Students per teacher 21.2:1 +19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.0% -47% vs state
NCES ID 530393000598
Student demographics
White 74.3%
Hispanic or Latino 16.3%
Two or More 6.1%
Asian 1.9%
African American 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 74.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 453:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 2.0%
In-school suspensions 49
Out-of-school suspensions 48
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kennewick School District, which includes Desert Hills Middle School.
$16,581
Per student
-28%
vs Washington
Avg $23,175
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 13.1%
State 74.5%
Federal 12.3%
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
- 1,956
- Students per teacher
- 24.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,921
- Students per teacher
- 23.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,612
- Students per teacher
- 22.8:1
- Enrollment
- 950
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 878
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
Similar middle schools in Kennewick
4 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Horse Heaven Hills Middle School
Standard public school
856 students 19.8:1 students per teacher
Highlands Middle School
Standard public school
745 students 16.3:1 students per teacher
Park Middle School
Standard public school
688 students 18.2:1 students per teacher
Finley Middle School
Standard public school
204 students 21.6:1 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 Desert Hills Middle School
How many students attend Desert Hills Middle School?
Desert Hills Middle School has 906 students enrolled. It is a middle school in KENNEWICK, WA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Desert Hills Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Desert Hills Middle School is 21.2:1, which is 19% higher than the Washington average of 17.8:1 and 33% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Desert Hills Middle School?
24.0% of students at Desert Hills Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Washington average of 45.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Desert Hills Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Desert Hills Middle School is White at 74.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in KENNEWICK, WA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Desert Hills Middle School?
Desert Hills Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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.