Enrollment
440
Connecticut · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Columbia, CT
Horace W. Porter School
Federal NCES profile for Horace W. Porter School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 70/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 090090000139
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 71
📋 Attendance 83
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Horace W. Porter School earns 70/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Connecticut median.
- 70
- Resource Index · Higher
- 10.7:1
- students per teacher
- 17.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 440
- students enrolled
Horace W. Porter School has class sizes near the Connecticut median. Computed live against every Connecticut school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Columbia School District · Connecticut
NCES ID 090090000139 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
41.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 12.1:1 Connecticut avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
17.5%
vs 36.4% Connecticut avg
-52% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Horace W. Porter School compares with Connecticut and U.S. medians
What stands out at Horace W. Porter School
Horace W. Porter School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Columbia, Connecticut, enrolling 440 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 10.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of Connecticut schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 17.5% of students eligible for free meals.
With 440 students, its enrollment sits close to the Connecticut median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 1,003 Connecticut schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 300 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Connecticut schools statewide, it ranks #2, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 29/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 147 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 7.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Columbia School District operates only this one school, so Horace W. Porter School has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Horace W. Porter School compares
Horace W. Porter School on the metrics families compare, against Connecticut and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Connecticut | Connecticut avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.7:1 | ▼ 12% | 12.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 17.5% | ▼ 52% | 36.4% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 440 | top 44% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
440
Bigger than 53% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
17.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 52% below the Connecticut average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.7:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 31% in Connecticut - lower ratio than 69% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
7.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$26,061
per pupil, district-wide
- above Connecticut avg of $23,870
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 147 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
18
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.6 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
White 83.4%
Hispanic or Latino 10.7%
Two or More 4.5%
African American 0.5%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 83.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.1, Horace W. Porter School is less mixed than the Connecticut school average of 50.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Columbia School District, which includes Horace W. Porter School.
$26,061
Per student
+9%
vs Connecticut
Avg $23,870
+57%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 71.0%
State 26.8%
Federal 2.3%
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.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Connecticut, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~440 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Horace W. Porter School's federal record.
- Compare Horace W. Porter School against another school. Compare schools
- Columbia School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Horace W. Porter School
How many students attend Horace W. Porter School?
Horace W. Porter School has 440 students enrolled. It is a public school in Columbia, CT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Horace W. Porter School?
The student-teacher ratio at Horace W. Porter School is 10.7:1, which is 12% lower than the Connecticut average of 12.1:1 and 32% 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 Horace W. Porter School?
17.5% of students at Horace W. Porter School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Connecticut average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Horace W. Porter School?
The largest demographic group at Horace W. Porter School is White at 83.4% of enrollment, in Columbia, CT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Horace W. Porter School?
Horace W. Porter School has a Resource Investment Index of 70/100 (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).
Is Horace W. Porter School a good school?
Horace W. Porter School earns 70/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Connecticut 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 Columbia School District?
None reported; Columbia School District operates only Horace W. Porter School as a public school district in NCES's records.
Related tools
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.