Enrollment
1,588
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 010123001501
Dothan High School — Dothan, AL
Federal NCES profile for Dothan High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 29/100.
👥 Class size 26
📚 AP courses 85
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 6
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: Dothan City · Alabama
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)
79.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.4:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
+3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.4%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Dothan High School compares with Alabama 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
Dothan High School reports 1,588 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 79.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% above the Alabama 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 16% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 64.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 10% above the Alabama average and 24% above the national baseline. The school offers 17 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 529 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 37.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Dothan City spends $14,524 per pupil district-wide, above the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 21.5% from local sources (property taxes), 53.0% from the state, and 25.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (F), 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 Dothan High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.4:1 | ▲ 3% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.4% | ▲ 10% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,588 | top 98% | — | — |
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
64.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 10% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
18.4:1
students per teacher
— 3% above state mean
Top 63% in Alabama — lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
37.7%
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
$14,524
per pupil, district-wide
— above Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 529 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
613
in-school suspensions + 197 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 38.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 51.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 242 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,588 Top 98% in Alabama — larger than 2% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 79.0
Students per teacher 18.4:1 +3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 64.4% +10% vs state
NCES ID 010123001501
Student demographics
African American 57.9%
White 29.7%
Hispanic or Latino 9.1%
Asian 1.9%
Two or More 1.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 57.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 17
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 529:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 37.7%
In-school suspensions 613
Out-of-school suspensions 197
Expulsions 242
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dothan City, which includes Dothan High School.
$14,524
Per student
+0%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 21.5%
State 53.0%
Federal 25.5%
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
- 1,034
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 583
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Enrollment
- 516
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Enrollment
- 501
- Students per teacher
- 20.2:1
- Enrollment
- 476
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
Similar high schools in Dothan
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Dothan High School
How many students attend Dothan High School?
Dothan High School has 1,588 students enrolled. It is a high school in Dothan, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dothan High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Dothan High School is 18.4:1, which is 3% higher than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 16% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Dothan High School?
64.4% of students at Dothan High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Dothan High School?
The largest demographic group at Dothan High School is African American at 57.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Dothan, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Dothan High School?
Dothan High School has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (F) 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.