Enrollment
337
Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 020051000586
Houston High School — Big Lake, AK
Federal NCES profile for Houston High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 40
📚 AP courses 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 78
📋 Attendance 0
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: Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District · Alaska
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)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.9:1
vs 20:1 Alaska avg
-26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.7%
vs 61.5% Alaska avg
-8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Houston High School compares with Alaska 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
Houston High School reports 337 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 24.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 26% below the Alaska state mean of 20:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 6% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 56.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 8% below the Alaska average and 9% above the national baseline. The school offers 6 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 112 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 78.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District spends $18,753 per pupil district-wide, below the Alaska average of $36,093 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.6% from local sources (property taxes), 62.7% from the state, and 14.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Houston High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alaska state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alaska | Alaska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.9:1 | ▼ 26% | 20:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.7% | ▼ 8% | 61.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 337 | top 76% | — | — |
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
56.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 8% below the Alaska average of 61.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.9:1
students per teacher
— 26% below state mean
Top 49% in Alaska — lower ratio than 51% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
78.6%
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
$18,753
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alaska avg of $36,093
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 112 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
27
in-school suspensions + 75 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 8.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 30.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 337 Top 76% in Alaska — larger than 24% of 496 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 24.0
Students per teacher 14.9:1 -26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 56.7% -8% vs state
NCES ID 020051000586
Student demographics
White 62.9%
Two or More 19.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 9.8%
Hispanic or Latino 4.7%
Asian 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
African American 0.6%
Largest group: White at 62.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 6
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 112:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 78.6%
In-school suspensions 27
Out-of-school suspensions 75
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, which includes Houston High School.
$18,753
Per student
-48%
vs Alaska
Avg $36,093
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.6%
State 62.7%
Federal 14.7%
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
- 2,780
- Students per teacher
- 98:1
- Enrollment
- 1,046
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 816
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 771
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 705
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
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 Houston High School
How many students attend Houston High School?
Houston High School has 337 students enrolled. It is a high school in Big Lake, AK.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Houston High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Houston High School is 14.9:1, which is 26% lower than the Alaska average of 20:1 and 6% 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 Houston High School?
56.7% of students at Houston High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alaska average of 61.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Houston High School?
The largest demographic group at Houston High School is White at 62.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Big Lake, AK.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Houston High School?
Houston High School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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.