Enrollment
1,894
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 220009000038
East Ascension High School — Gonzales, LA
Federal NCES profile for East Ascension High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 36
📚 AP courses 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 24
📋 Attendance 39
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: Ascension Parish · Louisiana
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)
132.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.9:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
48.2%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
-23% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How East Ascension High School compares with Louisiana 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
East Ascension High School reports 1,894 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 132.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 0% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 48.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 23% below the Louisiana average and 7% below the national baseline. The school offers 9 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 379 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Ascension Parish spends $15,936 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 53.9% from local sources (property taxes), 32.2% from the state, and 13.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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 East Ascension High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.9:1 | ▼ 15% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 48.2% | ▼ 23% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,894 | top 99% | — | — |
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
48.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 23% below the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.9:1
students per teacher
— 15% below state mean
Top 31% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.3%
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
$15,936
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 379 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
414
in-school suspensions + 280 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 21.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 36.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 20 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,894 Top 99% in Louisiana — larger than 1% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 132.0
Students per teacher 15.9:1 -15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 48.2% -23% vs state
NCES ID 220009000038
Student demographics
African American 48.8%
White 29.0%
Hispanic or Latino 17.1%
Two or More 4.4%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 48.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 9
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 379:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.3%
In-school suspensions 414
Out-of-school suspensions 280
Expulsions 20
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ascension Parish, which includes East Ascension High School.
$15,936
Per student
-11%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 53.9%
State 32.2%
Federal 13.9%
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
- 2,029
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 1,847
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,096
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Enrollment
- 865
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Enrollment
- 835
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
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 East Ascension High School
How many students attend East Ascension High School?
East Ascension High School has 1,894 students enrolled. It is a high school in Gonzales, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at East Ascension High School?
The student-teacher ratio at East Ascension High School is 15.9:1, which is 15% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 0% 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 East Ascension High School?
48.2% of students at East Ascension High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of East Ascension High School?
The largest demographic group at East Ascension High School is African American at 48.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Gonzales, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for East Ascension High School?
East Ascension High School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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.