Middle school (grades 6-8) · Memphis, TN

Highland Oaks Middle

Federal NCES profile for Highland Oaks Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 54/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 470014802199
0/100100/10054/100
👥 S:T ratio
35
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
46
📋 Attendance
64
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Highland Oaks Middle earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee schools.

#6 of 35
middle schools in Memphis · Resource Index
54
Resource Index · Higher
16.3:1
large classes for Tennessee
537
students enrolled

Highland Oaks Middle has class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Highland Oaks Middle ranks #6 of 35 middle schools in Memphis, TN.

Enrollment

537

Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

33.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

16.3:1

vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg

+7% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Highland Oaks Middle compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians

Slightly above 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 Highland Oaks Middle

Highland Oaks Middle is a mid-sized middle school in Memphis, Tennessee, enrolling 537 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Tennessee schools by student-teacher ratio.

With 537 students, its enrollment sits close to the Tennessee median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.

Its student body is predominantly African American (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 33/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 269 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

14.5% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

The surrounding Memphis-Shelby County Schools spends $13,650 per pupil, 26% above the Tennessee average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 28.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Memphis's middle schools, it stands alongside White Station Middle (1,127 students): Highland Oaks Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (16.3:1 vs 16.1:1).

Memphis-Shelby County Schools also operates Cordova High School (2,251 students) and White Station High (2,046 students) alongside Highland Oaks 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 Highland Oaks Middle compares

Highland Oaks Middle on the metrics families compare, against Tennessee and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Tennessee Tennessee avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 16.3:1 ▲ 7% 15.3:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 537 top 40% - -

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

16.3:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
537
Bigger than 66% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
16.3:1
students per teacher - 7% above state mean
Top 70% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 30% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
14.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$13,650
per pupil, district-wide - above Tennessee avg of $10,822
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 269 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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

African American 80.6%
Hispanic or Latino 14.9%
Two or More 3.5%
White 0.7%
Asian 0.2%

Largest group: African American at 80.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 32.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 32.7, Highland Oaks Middle is less mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, which includes Highland Oaks Middle.

$13,650
Per student
+26%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.5%
State 37.0%
Federal 28.5%

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 Highland Oaks Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Cordova High School Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
White Station High Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Germantown High Larger No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Southwind High Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Whitehaven High Larger No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Highland Oaks Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Memphis-Shelby County Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Memphis

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

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

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Highland Oaks Middle'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 Highland Oaks Middle

How many students attend Highland Oaks Middle?

Highland Oaks Middle has 537 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Memphis, TN.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Highland Oaks Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Highland Oaks Middle is 16.3:1, which is 7% higher than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 4% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highland Oaks Middle?

The largest demographic group at Highland Oaks Middle is African American at 80.6% of enrollment, in Memphis, TN.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Highland Oaks Middle?

Highland Oaks Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 54/100 (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 Highland Oaks Middle rank among middle schools in Memphis?

By Resource Investment Index, Highland Oaks Middle ranks #6 of 35 middle schools in Memphis, TN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Memphis on the city page.

Is Highland Oaks Middle a good school?

Highland Oaks Middle earns 54/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Tennessee 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 Memphis-Shelby County Schools?

Besides Highland Oaks Middle, Memphis-Shelby County Schools also operates Cordova High School (2,251 students), White Station High (2,046 students), and Germantown High (1,719 students). See the Memphis-Shelby 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.

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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.