High school (grades 9-12) · Columbus, GA

Hardaway High School

Federal NCES profile for Hardaway High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 130387001397
0/100100/10033/100
👥 S:T ratio
45
📚 AP courses
20
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
29
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Hardaway High School earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median.

#6 of 8
high schools in Columbus · Resource Index
33
Resource Index · Typical
13.7:1
students per teacher
96.6%
free-lunch eligible

Hardaway High School has class sizes near the Georgia median. Computed live against every Georgia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Hardaway High School ranks #6 of 8 high schools in Columbus, GA.

School address

Enrollment

1,067

Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

78.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.7:1

vs 14.4:1 Georgia avg

-5% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

96.6%

vs 60.7% Georgia avg

+59% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Hardaway High School compares with Georgia and U.S. medians

At or below 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 Hardaway High School

Hardaway High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Columbus, Georgia, enrolling 1,067 students.

At 13.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Georgia median, within a few percentage points of the 14.4:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 96.6% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 1,067 puts it in the larger third of Georgia schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,314 scored Georgia schools.

Against 247 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #136.

Its student body is led by African American (67%) and White (14%) (diversity index 52/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 4 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 356 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 44.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 18.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Discipline events run high: 447 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 1,067 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

The federal civil-rights collection also records 19 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.

Among Columbus's high schools, it stands alongside Northside High School (1,405 students): Hardaway High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.7:1 vs 15.8:1).

Muscogee County also operates Northside High School (1,405 students) and Shaw High School (1,162 students) alongside Hardaway 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 Hardaway High School compares

Hardaway High School on the metrics families compare, against Georgia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Georgia Georgia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13.7:1 ▼ 5% 14.4:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 96.6% ▲ 59% 60.7% 51.7%
Enrollment 1,067 top 16% - -

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

13.7:1
Leaner classes than 60% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,067
Bigger than 92% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
96.6%
free-lunch eligible - 59% above the Georgia average of 60.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.7:1
students per teacher - 5% below state mean
Top 43% in Georgia - lower ratio than 57% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
44.4%
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
$12,762
per pupil, district-wide - below Georgia avg of $13,863
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 356 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
235
in-school suspensions + 212 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 22.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 41.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 19 expulsions.

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

African American 66.8%
White 13.6%
Hispanic or Latino 10.8%
Two or More 7.6%
Asian 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%

Largest group: African American at 66.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 51.8/100

Simpson diversity index - at 51.8, Hardaway High School is about as mixed as the Georgia school average of 50.0.

Programs

AP courses offered 4
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Muscogee County, which includes Hardaway High School.

$12,762
Per student
-8%
vs Georgia
Avg $13,863
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 38.8%
State 43.0%
Federal 18.2%

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 Hardaway High School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Northside High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Shaw High School Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Columbus High School Similar size Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Jordan Vocational High School Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Spencer High School Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

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

Other Schools in This District

Muscogee County · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Columbus

6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high schools statewide

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

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Hardaway 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 Hardaway High School

How many students attend Hardaway High School?

Hardaway High School has 1,067 students enrolled. It is a high school in Columbus, GA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Hardaway High School?

The student-teacher ratio at Hardaway High School is 13.7:1, which is 5% lower than the Georgia average of 14.4:1 and 13% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hardaway High School?

96.6% of students at Hardaway High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hardaway High School?

The largest demographic group at Hardaway High School is African American at 66.8% of enrollment, in Columbus, GA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 51.8/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Hardaway High School?

Hardaway High School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Hardaway High School rank among high schools in Columbus?

By Resource Investment Index, Hardaway High School ranks #6 of 8 high schools in Columbus, GA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Columbus on the city page.

Is Hardaway High School a good school?

Hardaway High School earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Georgia median. 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 Muscogee County?

Besides Hardaway High School, Muscogee County also operates Northside High School (1,405 students), Shaw High School (1,162 students), and Columbus High School (1,161 students). See the Muscogee County 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.

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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.