Enrollment
2,261
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 510126000495
Herndon High — Herndon, VA
Federal NCES profile for Herndon High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 34
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 Attendance 44
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 →
The verdict
Herndon High earns a C- Resource Investment Index (53/100), with class sizes larger than 89% of Virginia schools.
- C-
- Resource Index · 53/100
- 16.5:1
- large classes for Virginia
- 41.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 2,261
- students enrolled
School address
District: Fairfax County Public Schools · Virginia
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)
143.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.5:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
+18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
41.5%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-31% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Herndon High compares with Virginia 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
Herndon High reports 2,261 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 143.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 18% above the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 5% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 41.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 31% below the Virginia average and 20% below the national baseline. The school offers 25 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 206 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 22.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fairfax County Public Schools spends $17,977 per pupil district-wide, above the Virginia average of $14,649 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 66.6% from local sources (property taxes), 23.3% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-), 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 Herndon High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.5:1 | ▲ 18% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 41.5% | ▼ 31% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,261 | top 98% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
17 smaller classes than 35% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
2,261 larger than 99% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
41.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 31% below the Virginia average of 59.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.5:1
students per teacher
— 18% above state mean
Top 89% in Virginia — lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
22.4%
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
$17,977
per pupil, district-wide
— above Virginia avg of $14,649
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors11.0 FTE
Per 206 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
163
in-school suspensions + 45 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 2,261 Top 98% in Virginia — larger than 2% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 143.0
Students per teacher 16.5:1 +18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 41.5% -31% vs state
NCES ID 510126000495
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 53.5%
White 28.2%
Asian 7.6%
African American 6.1%
Two or More 4.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 53.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 25
Counselors (FTE) 11.0
Students per counselor 206:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 22.4%
In-school suspensions 163
Out-of-school suspensions 45
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairfax County Public Schools, which includes Herndon High.
$17,977
Per student
+23%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.6%
State 23.3%
Federal 10.1%
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
- 4,411
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,710
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 3,256
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,937
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,799
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
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 Herndon High
How many students attend Herndon High?
Herndon High has 2,261 students enrolled. It is a high school in Herndon, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Herndon High?
The student-teacher ratio at Herndon High is 16.5:1, which is 18% higher than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 5% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Herndon High?
41.5% of students at Herndon High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Herndon High?
The largest demographic group at Herndon High is Hispanic or Latino at 53.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Herndon, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Herndon High?
Herndon High has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-) 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.
Is Herndon High a good school?
Herndon High earns a C- Resource Investment Index (53/100), with class sizes larger than 89% of Virginia schools. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.