Enrollment
1,820
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 191545000927
Johnston Senior High School — Johnston, IA
Federal NCES profile for Johnston Senior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 20
📚 AP courses 85
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 19
📋 Attendance 12
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: Johnston Comm School District · Iowa
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)
89.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.1:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
+34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
20.7%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Johnston Senior High School compares with Iowa 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
Johnston Senior High School reports 1,820 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 89.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 34% above the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 26% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 20.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 43% below the Iowa average and 60% below the national baseline. The school offers 17 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 404 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 35.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Johnston Comm School District spends $13,194 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 46.6% from local sources (property taxes), 45.8% from the state, and 7.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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 Johnston Senior High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.1:1 | ▲ 34% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 20.7% | ▼ 43% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,820 | top 100% | — | — |
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
20.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 43% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.1:1
students per teacher
— 34% above state mean
Top 94% in Iowa — lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
35.1%
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
$13,194
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.5 FTE
Per 404 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 79 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,820 Top 100% in Iowa — larger than 0% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 89.0
Students per teacher 20.1:1 +34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 20.7% -43% vs state
NCES ID 191545000927
Student demographics
White 68.1%
African American 10.8%
Asian 8.0%
Hispanic or Latino 7.8%
Two or More 5.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 68.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 17
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.5
Students per counselor 404:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 35.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 79
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Johnston Comm School District, which includes Johnston Senior High School.
$13,194
Per student
-23%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 46.6%
State 45.8%
Federal 7.6%
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
- 1,161
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,118
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 840
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 667
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Enrollment
- 613
- Students per teacher
- 15:1
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 Johnston Senior High School
How many students attend Johnston Senior High School?
Johnston Senior High School has 1,820 students enrolled. It is a high school in Johnston, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Johnston Senior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Johnston Senior High School is 20.1:1, which is 34% higher than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 26% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Johnston Senior High School?
20.7% of students at Johnston Senior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Johnston Senior High School?
The largest demographic group at Johnston Senior High School is White at 68.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Johnston, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Johnston Senior High School?
Johnston Senior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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.