Enrollment
486
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Festus, MO
Festus Middle
Federal NCES profile for Festus Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 55/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 291203002522
👥 S:T ratio 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 51
📋 Attendance 62
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Festus Middle earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Missouri schools.
- #1 of 8
- public schools in Festus · Resource Index
- 55
- Resource Index · Higher
- 16.2:1
- large classes for Missouri
- 34.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Festus Middle has class sizes larger than 88% of Missouri schools. Computed live against every Missouri school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Festus Middle ranks #1 of 8 public schools in Festus, MO.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.2:1
vs 12.8:1 Missouri avg
+27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.4%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Festus Middle compares with Missouri and U.S. medians
What stands out at Festus Middle
Festus Middle is a mid-sized middle school in Festus, Missouri, enrolling 486 students.
Class loads run heavy: 16.2:1 is larger than about 88% of Missouri schools and 27% above the 12.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 34.4% lands close to the Missouri typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 486 puts it in the larger third of Missouri schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,313 scored Missouri schools.
Against 498 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #74.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 19/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 243 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
15.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Festus R-Vi spends $9,928 per pupil, 23% below the Missouri average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Discipline events run high: 118 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 486 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Festus R-Vi also operates Festus Elem. (1,045 students) and Festus Sr. High (1,019 students) alongside Festus 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 Festus Middle compares
Festus Middle on the metrics families compare, against Missouri and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.2:1 | ▲ 27% | 12.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.4% | ▼ 25% | 46.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 486 | top 23% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.2:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
486
Bigger than 60% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
34.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 25% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher
- 27% above state mean
Top 88% in Missouri - lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$9,928
per pupil, district-wide
- below Missouri avg of $12,931
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 243 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
84
in-school suspensions + 34 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 24.3 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 89.7%
Two or More 6.8%
African American 2.3%
Hispanic or Latino 1.0%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 89.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 19.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 19.0, Festus Middle is less mixed than the Missouri school average of 31.0.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Festus R-Vi, which includes Festus Middle.
$9,928
Per student
-23%
vs Missouri
Avg $12,931
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 49.2%
State 38.5%
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.
How Festus Middle Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Festus Elem. | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Festus Sr. High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Festus Intermediate | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Festus Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,045
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 1,019
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 804
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Missouri, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~486 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Festus Middle's federal record.
- Compare Festus Middle against another school. Compare schools
- Festus R-Vi's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Festus Middle
How many students attend Festus Middle?
Festus Middle has 486 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Festus, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Festus Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Festus Middle is 16.2:1, which is 27% higher than the Missouri average of 12.8:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Festus Middle?
34.4% of students at Festus Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Festus Middle?
The largest demographic group at Festus Middle is White at 89.7% of enrollment, in Festus, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Festus Middle?
Festus Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (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 Festus Middle rank among public schools in Festus?
By Resource Investment Index, Festus Middle ranks #1 of 8 public schools in Festus, MO. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Festus on the city page.
Is Festus Middle a good school?
Festus Middle earns 55/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 88% of Missouri schools. 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 Festus R-Vi?
Besides Festus Middle, Festus R-Vi also operates Festus Elem. (1,045 students), Festus Sr. High (1,019 students), and Festus Intermediate (804 students). See the Festus R-Vi district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.