Enrollment
401
West Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Coal City, WV
Independence Middle School
Federal NCES profile for Independence Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 540123000779
👥 S:T ratio 60
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Independence Middle School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of West Virginia schools.
- #1 of 3
- public schools in Coal City · Resource Index
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10:1
- small classes for West Virginia
- 401
- students enrolled
Independence Middle School has class sizes smaller than 86% of West Virginia schools. Computed live against every West Virginia school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Independence Middle School ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Coal City, WV.
School address
District: Raleigh County Schools · West Virginia
NCES ID 540123000779 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
40.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10:1
vs 13.1:1 West Virginia avg
-24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Independence Middle School compares with West Virginia and U.S. medians
What stands out at Independence Middle School
Independence Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in Coal City, West Virginia, enrolling 401 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10:1, Independence Middle School is leaner than roughly 86% of West Virginia schools and 24% under the state's 13.1:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Enrollment of 401 puts it in the larger third of West Virginia schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 643 scored West Virginia schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (92% of enrollment) (diversity index 16/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 267 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 43.1% 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: 191 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 401 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 Middle 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 Middle School compares
Independence Middle 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 | 10:1 | ▼ 24% | 13.1:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 401 | top 34% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10:1
Leaner classes than 89% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
401
Bigger than 48% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
10:1
students per teacher
- 24% below state mean
Top 14% in West Virginia - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
43.1%
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
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 267 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
130
in-school suspensions + 61 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 32.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 47.6 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 91.5%
Two or More 4.5%
African American 2.0%
Hispanic or Latino 1.7%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 91.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 16.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 16.0, Independence Middle School is about as mixed as the West Virginia school average of 17.9.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Raleigh County Schools, which includes Independence Middle 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 Middle School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Woodrow Wilson High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Shady Spring High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Shady Spring Middle School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Independence High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Beckley-Stratton Middle School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Independence Middle 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
- 597
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 590
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
Similar middle 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 (~401 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Independence Middle School's federal record.
- Compare Independence Middle 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 Middle School
How many students attend Independence Middle School?
Independence Middle School has 401 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Coal City, WV.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Independence Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Independence Middle School is 10:1, which is 24% lower than the West Virginia average of 13.1:1 and 36% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Independence Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Independence Middle School is White at 91.5% of enrollment, in Coal City, WV.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Independence Middle School?
Independence Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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).
How does Independence Middle School rank among public schools in Coal City?
By Resource Investment Index, Independence Middle School ranks #1 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 Middle School a good school?
Independence Middle School earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% 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 Middle 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.