Enrollment
848
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 193048001723
Hoover Middle School — Waterloo, IA
Federal NCES profile for Hoover Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 38
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: Waterloo Comm School District · Iowa
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)
56.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.9%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
+21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Hoover Middle School compares with Iowa 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
Hoover Middle School reports 848 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 56.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% above the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 43.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 21% above the Iowa average and 15% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 283 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Waterloo Comm School District spends $16,839 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.0% from local sources (property taxes), 56.9% from the state, and 20.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D), calculated from 4 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 Hoover Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▲ 5% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.9% | ▲ 21% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 848 | top 94% | — | — |
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
43.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 21% above the Iowa average of 36.4%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher
— 5% above state mean
Top 73% in Iowa — lower ratio than 27% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.9%
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
$16,839
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 283 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
113
in-school suspensions + 233 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 13.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 40.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 848 Top 94% in Iowa — larger than 6% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 56.0
Students per teacher 15.8:1 +5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 43.9% +21% vs state
NCES ID 193048001723
Student demographics
White 53.3%
African American 19.8%
Two or More 9.6%
Hispanic or Latino 9.3%
Asian 5.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 2.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 53.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 283:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.9%
In-school suspensions 113
Out-of-school suspensions 233
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waterloo Comm School District, which includes Hoover Middle School.
$16,839
Per student
-2%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.0%
State 56.9%
Federal 20.1%
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
- 1,696
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,016
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 576
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Enrollment
- 561
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 538
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
Similar middle schools in Waterloo
2 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Hoover Middle School
How many students attend Hoover Middle School?
Hoover Middle School has 848 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Waterloo, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hoover Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Hoover Middle School is 15.8:1, which is 5% higher than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Hoover Middle School?
43.9% of students at Hoover Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Hoover Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Hoover Middle School is White at 53.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Waterloo, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Hoover Middle School?
Hoover Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.