Enrollment
476
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 050777000491
Highland High School — Hardy, AR
Federal NCES profile for Highland High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 67
📚 AP courses 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 52
📋 Attendance 6
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: Highland School District · Arkansas
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)
64.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.2:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
-40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
+69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highland High School compares with Arkansas 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
Highland High School reports 476 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 64.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 8.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 40% below the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 48% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 100.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% above the Arkansas average and 93% above the national baseline. The school offers 9 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 238 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 37.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Highland School District spends $15,249 per pupil district-wide, above the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 25.9% from local sources (property taxes), 44.6% from the state, and 29.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), 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 Highland High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.2:1 | ▼ 40% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 69% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 476 | top 64% | — | — |
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
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% above the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.2:1
students per teacher
— 40% below state mean
Top 14% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
37.6%
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
$15,249
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 238 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
165
in-school suspensions + 82 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 34.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 51.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 22 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 476 Top 64% in Arkansas — larger than 36% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 64.0
Students per teacher 8.2:1 -40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% +69% vs state
NCES ID 050777000491
Student demographics
White 91.8%
Hispanic or Latino 4.0%
Two or More 1.9%
African American 1.3%
Asian 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 91.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 9
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 238:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 37.6%
In-school suspensions 165
Out-of-school suspensions 82
Expulsions 22
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Highland School District, which includes Highland High School.
$15,249
Per student
+7%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 25.9%
State 44.6%
Federal 29.6%
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
- 581
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 442
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
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 Highland High School
How many students attend Highland High School?
Highland High School has 476 students enrolled. It is a high school in HARDY, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Highland High School is 8.2:1, which is 40% lower than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 48% 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 Highland High School?
100.0% of students at Highland High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highland High School?
The largest demographic group at Highland High School is White at 91.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in HARDY, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highland High School?
Highland High School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.