Enrollment
317
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Sterling, MA
Houghton Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Houghton Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 251188001476
👥 S:T ratio 47
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 67
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Houghton Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Massachusetts schools.
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13.2:1
- large classes for Massachusetts
- 317
- students enrolled
Houghton Elementary has class sizes larger than 70% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Wachusett · Massachusetts
NCES ID 251188001476 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.2:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
+7% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Houghton Elementary compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Houghton Elementary
Houghton Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Sterling, Massachusetts, enrolling 317 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 13.2:1 puts it in the larger third of Massachusetts schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 317 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is led by White (76%) and Hispanic or Latino (15%) (diversity index 39/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 634 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
13.2% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Wachusett spends $17,517 per pupil, 22% below the Massachusetts average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Among Sterling's elementary schools, it stands alongside Chocksett Middle School (264 students): Houghton Elementary is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (13.2:1 vs 11.5:1).
Wachusett also operates Wachusett Regional High (1,779 students) and Mountview Middle (773 students) alongside Houghton Elementary.
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 Houghton Elementary compares
Houghton Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.2:1 | ▲ 7% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 317 | top 68% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.2:1
Leaner classes than 65% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
317
Bigger than 35% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
13.2:1
students per teacher
- 7% above state mean
Top 70% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 30% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
13.2%
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
$17,517
per pupil, district-wide
- below Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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
White 76.3%
Hispanic or Latino 14.8%
African American 3.2%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 2.5%
Largest group: White at 76.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 39.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 39.3, Houghton Elementary is less mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wachusett, which includes Houghton Elementary.
$17,517
Per student
-22%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 56.4%
State 37.2%
Federal 6.4%
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 Houghton Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wachusett Regional High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mountview Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Dawson | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Leroy E.Mayo | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Paxton Center | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Houghton Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,779
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 773
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 487
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 472
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 448
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
Similar elementary schools in Sterling
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~317 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Houghton Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Houghton Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Wachusett'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 Houghton Elementary
How many students attend Houghton Elementary?
Houghton Elementary has 317 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Sterling, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Houghton Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Houghton Elementary is 13.2:1, which is 7% higher than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 16% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Houghton Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Houghton Elementary is White at 76.3% of enrollment, in Sterling, MA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Houghton Elementary?
Houghton Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical 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 Houghton Elementary a good school?
Houghton Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 70% of Massachusetts 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 Wachusett?
Besides Houghton Elementary, Wachusett also operates Wachusett Regional High (1,779 students), Mountview Middle (773 students), and Dawson (487 students). See the Wachusett district page for the complete list.
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.