Enrollment
410
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 191134000694
Fairfield Middle School — Fairfield, IA
Federal NCES profile for Fairfield Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 54/100.
👥 Class size 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 57
📋 Attendance 35
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: Fairfield Comm School District · Iowa
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)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
42.9%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+18% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Fairfield Middle School compares with Iowa 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
Fairfield Middle School reports 410 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 38.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 23% below the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 28% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 42.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 18% above the Iowa average and 17% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 216 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fairfield Comm School District spends $16,790 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 42.1% from local sources (property taxes), 43.0% from the state, and 14.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (C-), 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 Fairfield Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 23% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 42.9% | ▲ 18% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 410 | top 69% | — | — |
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
42.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 18% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
— 23% below state mean
Top 11% in Iowa — lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
25.9%
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
$16,790
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.9 FTE
Per 216 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
41
in-school suspensions + 29 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 17.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 410 Top 69% in Iowa — larger than 31% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 38.0
Students per teacher 11.5:1 -23% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 42.9% +18% vs state
NCES ID 191134000694
Student demographics
White 79.3%
Hispanic or Latino 10.2%
Two or More 5.4%
Asian 4.4%
African American 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 79.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.9
Students per counselor 216:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.9%
In-school suspensions 41
Out-of-school suspensions 29
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairfield Comm School District, which includes Fairfield Middle School.
$16,790
Per student
-2%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 42.1%
State 43.0%
Federal 14.9%
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
- 442
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 317
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Enrollment
- 239
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Fairfield
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Fairfield Middle School
How many students attend Fairfield Middle School?
Fairfield Middle School has 410 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Fairfield, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fairfield Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Fairfield Middle School is 11.5:1, which is 23% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 28% lower 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 Fairfield Middle School?
42.9% of students at Fairfield Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Fairfield Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Fairfield Middle School is White at 79.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Fairfield, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Fairfield Middle School?
Fairfield Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (C-) 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.