High school (grades 9-12) · Charleston, WV

George Washington High School

Federal NCES profile for George Washington High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 540060000397
0/100100/10045/100
👥 S:T ratio
2
📚 AP courses
65
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
43
📋 Attendance
46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

George Washington High School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of West Virginia schools. It is also one of the largest schools in West Virginia.

#2 of 3
high schools in Charleston · Resource Index
45
Resource Index · Typical
24.4:1
large classes for West Virginia
1,145
students enrolled

George Washington High School has class sizes larger than 99% of West Virginia schools. Computed live against every West Virginia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, George Washington High School ranks #2 of 3 high schools in Charleston, WV.

Enrollment

1,145

West Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

47.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

24.4:1

vs 13.1:1 West Virginia avg

+86% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How George Washington High School compares with West Virginia and U.S. medians

Larger classes than 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 George Washington High School

George Washington High School is a large high school in Charleston, West Virginia, enrolling 1,145 students.

Class loads run heavy: 24.4:1 is larger than about 99% of West Virginia schools and 86% above the 13.1:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in West Virginia, bigger than 98% of state schools at 1,145 students.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 643 scored West Virginia schools.

Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 32/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 13 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 286 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.7% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Its district draws 25.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Kanawha County Schools also operates Riverside High School (1,057 students) and Capital High School (1,051 students) alongside George Washington High School.

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 George Washington High School compares

George Washington High School on the metrics families compare, against West Virginia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs West Virginia West Virginia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 24.4:1 ▲ 86% 13.1:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 1,145 top 2% - -

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

24.4:1
Leaner classes than 6% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
1,145
Bigger than 93% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
24.4:1
students per teacher - 86% above state mean
Top 99% in West Virginia - lower ratio than 1% of state schools
Well above 20:1, one of the more stretched staffing loads nationally relative to enrollment.
Engagement
21.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,227
per pupil, district-wide - below West Virginia avg of $14,844
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 286 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 125 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.9 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 81.8%
African American 6.0%
Two or More 5.3%
Asian 5.1%
Hispanic or Latino 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%

Largest group: White at 81.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 32.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 32.2, George Washington High School is more mixed than the West Virginia school average of 17.9.

Programs

AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kanawha County Schools, which includes George Washington High School.

$13,227
Per student
-11%
vs West Virginia
Avg $14,844
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.8%
State 40.8%
Federal 25.4%

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 George Washington High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Riverside High School Similar size No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Capital High School Similar size No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Saint Albans High School Similar size No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
South Charleston High School Similar size No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Nitro High School Smaller No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to George Washington High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Kanawha County Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of West Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on George Washington High School'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 George Washington High School

How many students attend George Washington High School?

George Washington High School has 1,145 students enrolled. It is a high school in Charleston, WV.

What is the student-teacher ratio at George Washington High School?

The student-teacher ratio at George Washington High School is 24.4:1, which is 86% higher than the West Virginia average of 13.1:1 and 55% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of George Washington High School?

The largest demographic group at George Washington High School is White at 81.8% of enrollment, in Charleston, WV.

What is the Resource Investment Index for George Washington High School?

George Washington High School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does George Washington High School rank among high schools in Charleston?

By Resource Investment Index, George Washington High School ranks #2 of 3 high schools in Charleston, WV. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Charleston on the city page.

Is George Washington High School a good school?

George Washington High School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of West Virginia schools. It is also one of the largest schools in West Virginia. 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 Kanawha County Schools?

Besides George Washington High School, Kanawha County Schools also operates Riverside High School (1,057 students), Capital High School (1,051 students), and Saint Albans High School (882 students). See the Kanawha County 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.

View saved

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.