Enrollment
597
West Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Coal City, WV
Independence High School
Federal NCES profile for Independence High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 23/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 540123000958
👥 S:T ratio 30
📚 AP courses 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Independence High School earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of West Virginia schools.
- #3 of 3
- public schools in Coal City · Resource Index
- 23
- Resource Index · Lower
- 17.6:1
- large classes for West Virginia
- 597
- students enrolled
Independence High School has class sizes larger than 94% of West Virginia schools. Computed live against every West Virginia school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Independence High School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Coal City, WV.
School address
District: Raleigh County Schools · West Virginia
NCES ID 540123000958 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.6:1
vs 13.1:1 West Virginia avg
+34% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Independence High School compares with West Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Independence High School
Independence High School is a large high school in Coal City, West Virginia, enrolling 597 students.
Class loads run heavy: 17.6:1 is larger than about 94% of West Virginia schools and 34% above the 13.1:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Enrollment of 597 puts it in the larger third of West Virginia schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 98% of the 643 West Virginia schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Its student body is predominantly White (96% of enrollment) (diversity index 9/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 3 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 299 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 43.6% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 157 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 597 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
Raleigh County Schools also operates Woodrow Wilson High School (1,284 students) and Shady Spring High (754 students) alongside Independence High School.
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 Independence High School compares
Independence High School on the metrics families compare, against West Virginia and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs West Virginia | West Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.6:1 | ▲ 34% | 13.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 597 | top 15% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.6:1
Leaner classes than 27% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
597
Bigger than 72% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
17.6:1
students per teacher
- 34% above state mean
Top 94% in West Virginia - lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
43.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,014
per pupil, district-wide
- below West Virginia avg of $14,844
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 299 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
120
in-school suspensions + 37 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 20.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 26.3 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 95.5%
Two or More 1.8%
African American 1.5%
Hispanic or Latino 0.8%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 95.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 8.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 8.7, Independence High School is less mixed than the West Virginia school average of 17.9.
Programs
AP courses offered 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Raleigh County Schools, which includes Independence High School.
$13,014
Per student
-12%
vs West Virginia
Avg $14,844
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 29.2%
State 51.8%
Federal 19.0%
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 Independence High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodrow Wilson High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Shady Spring High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Shady Spring Middle School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Beckley-Stratton Middle School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Daniels Elementary | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Independence High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,284
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 754
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 599
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 590
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 510
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of West Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~597 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Independence High School's federal record.
- Compare Independence High School against another school. Compare schools
- Raleigh County Schools'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 Independence High School
How many students attend Independence High School?
Independence High School has 597 students enrolled. It is a high school in Coal City, WV.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Independence High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Independence High School is 17.6:1, which is 34% higher than the West Virginia average of 13.1:1 and 12% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Independence High School?
The largest demographic group at Independence High School is White at 95.5% of enrollment, in Coal City, WV.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Independence High School?
Independence High School has a Resource Investment Index of 23/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Independence High School rank among public schools in Coal City?
By Resource Investment Index, Independence High School ranks #3 of 3 public schools in Coal City, WV. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Coal City on the city page.
Is Independence High School a good school?
Independence High School earns 23/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 94% of West Virginia 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 Raleigh County Schools?
Besides Independence High School, Raleigh County Schools also operates Woodrow Wilson High School (1,284 students), Shady Spring High (754 students), and Shady Spring Middle School (599 students). See the Raleigh County Schools 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.