Middle school (grades 6-8) · Arlington, VA

Dorothy Hamm Middle

Federal NCES profile for Dorothy Hamm Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 67/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 510027003062
0/100100/10067/100
👥 S:T ratio
45
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
63
📋 Attendance
89
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Dorothy Hamm Middle earns 67/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia median.

#1 of 6
middle schools in Arlington · Resource Index
67
Resource Index · Higher
13.7:1
students per teacher
15.8%
free-lunch eligible

Dorothy Hamm Middle has class sizes near the Virginia median. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Dorothy Hamm Middle ranks #1 of 6 middle schools in Arlington, VA.

Enrollment

989

Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

72.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.7:1

vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg

-1% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

15.8%

vs 57.6% Virginia avg

-73% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Dorothy Hamm Middle compares with Virginia and U.S. medians

At or below 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 Dorothy Hamm Middle

Dorothy Hamm Middle is a lower-poverty, large middle school in Arlington, Virginia, enrolling 989 students.

At 13.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Virginia median, within a few percentage points of the 13.9:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 15.8% free-meal eligibility runs 73% below the Virginia average.

Enrollment of 989 puts it in the larger third of Virginia schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 1,868 Virginia schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.

Among 233 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Virginia schools statewide, it ranks #2, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is led by White (52%) and Hispanic or Latino (15%) (diversity index 67/100).

Counselor coverage is strong, about 187 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Attendance holds up well here: only 4.3% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

The surrounding Arlington County Public Schools spends $21,782 per pupil, 49% above the Virginia average, a better-resourced district than most.

Among Arlington's middle schools, it stands alongside Jefferson Middle (1,120 students): Dorothy Hamm Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.7:1 vs 13.7:1).

Arlington County Public Schools also operates Washington-Liberty High (3,044 students) and Wakefield High (2,646 students) alongside Dorothy Hamm Middle.

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 Dorothy Hamm Middle compares

Dorothy Hamm Middle on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Virginia Virginia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13.7:1 ▼ 1% 13.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 15.8% ▼ 73% 57.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 989 top 15% - -

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

13.7:1
Leaner classes than 60% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
989
Bigger than 91% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
15.8%
free-lunch eligible - 73% below the Virginia average of 57.6%
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
13.7:1
students per teacher - 1% below state mean
Top 49% in Virginia - lower ratio than 51% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
4.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$21,782
per pupil, district-wide - above Virginia avg of $14,649
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors5.3 FTE
Per 187 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
23
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

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 52.3%
Hispanic or Latino 15.3%
Asian 14.4%
African American 9.2%
Two or More 8.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%

Largest group: White at 52.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 66.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 66.6, Dorothy Hamm Middle is more mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Arlington County Public Schools, which includes Dorothy Hamm Middle.

$21,782
Per student
+49%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
+31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 79.4%
State 12.4%
Federal 8.2%

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 Dorothy Hamm Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Washington-Liberty High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Wakefield High Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Yorktown High Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Jefferson Middle Similar size Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Gunston Middle Similar size Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Dorothy Hamm Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Arlington County Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Arlington

5 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 Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Dorothy Hamm Middle'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 Dorothy Hamm Middle

How many students attend Dorothy Hamm Middle?

Dorothy Hamm Middle has 989 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Arlington, VA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Dorothy Hamm Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Dorothy Hamm Middle is 13.7:1, which is 1% lower than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 13% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dorothy Hamm Middle?

15.8% of students at Dorothy Hamm Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dorothy Hamm Middle?

The largest demographic group at Dorothy Hamm Middle is White at 52.3% of enrollment, in Arlington, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 66.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Dorothy Hamm Middle?

Dorothy Hamm Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 67/100 (higher 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 Dorothy Hamm Middle rank among middle schools in Arlington?

By Resource Investment Index, Dorothy Hamm Middle ranks #1 of 6 middle schools in Arlington, VA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Arlington on the city page.

Is Dorothy Hamm Middle a good school?

Dorothy Hamm Middle earns 67/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Virginia 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 Arlington County Public Schools?

Besides Dorothy Hamm Middle, Arlington County Public Schools also operates Washington-Liberty High (3,044 students), Wakefield High (2,646 students), and Yorktown High (2,593 students). See the Arlington County 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.