Enrollment
1,016
Hawaii · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 150003000086
Kauai High School — Lihue, HI
Federal NCES profile for Kauai High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 37
📚 AP courses 70
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 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: Hawaii Department of Education · Hawaii
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)
70.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.8:1
vs 14.3:1 Hawaii avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
30.3%
vs 40.0% Hawaii avg
-24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Kauai High School compares with Hawaii 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
Kauai High School reports 1,016 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 70.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% above the Hawaii state mean of 14.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 30.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 24% below the Hawaii average and 42% below the national baseline. The school offers 14 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 203 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 42.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Hawaii Department of Education spends $19,381 per pupil district-wide, above the Hawaii average of $19,381 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 0.8% from local sources (property taxes), 84.7% from the state, and 14.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F), 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 Kauai High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Hawaii state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Hawaii | Hawaii avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.8:1 | ▲ 10% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 30.3% | ▼ 24% | 40.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,016 | top 90% | — | — |
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
30.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 24% below the Hawaii average of 40.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.8:1
students per teacher
— 10% above state mean
Top 76% in Hawaii — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
42.5%
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
$19,381
per pupil, district-wide
— above Hawaii avg of $19,381
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 203 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 45 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,016 Top 90% in Hawaii — larger than 10% of 295 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 70.0
Students per teacher 15.8:1 +10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 30.3% -24% vs state
NCES ID 150003000086
Student demographics
Asian 27.9%
Two or More 25.2%
Hispanic or Latino 19.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 19.3%
White 7.7%
African American 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Asian at 27.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 14
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 203:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 42.5%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 45
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hawaii Department of Education, which includes Kauai High School.
$19,381
Per student
+0%
vs Hawaii
Avg $19,381
-1%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 0.8%
State 84.7%
Federal 14.5%
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
- 2,890
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,538
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,382
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 2,094
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 1,966
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
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 Kauai High School
How many students attend Kauai High School?
Kauai High School has 1,016 students enrolled. It is a high school in Lihue, HI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Kauai High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Kauai High School is 15.8:1, which is 10% higher than the Hawaii average of 14.3:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Kauai High School?
30.3% of students at Kauai High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Hawaii average of 40.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Kauai High School?
The largest demographic group at Kauai High School is Asian at 27.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lihue, HI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Kauai High School?
Kauai High School has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) 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.