Enrollment
304
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Dekalb, MS
Kemper County High School
Federal NCES profile for Kemper County High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 280231001116
👥 S:T ratio 60
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Kemper County High School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 90% of Mississippi schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Mississippi schools.
- 28
- Resource Index · Lower
- 10.1:1
- small classes for Mississippi
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 304
- students enrolled
Kemper County High School has class sizes smaller than 90% of Mississippi schools. Computed live against every Mississippi school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Kemper Co School Dist · Mississippi
NCES ID 280231001116 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.1:1
vs 13.3:1 Mississippi avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
+24% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Kemper County High School compares with Mississippi and U.S. medians
What stands out at Kemper County High School
Kemper County High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Dekalb, Mississippi, enrolling 304 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.1:1, Kemper County High School is leaner than roughly 90% of Mississippi schools and 24% under the state's 13.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the Mississippi typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 304 puts it in the smaller third of Mississippi schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 877 scored Mississippi schools.
Among 286 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Mississippi schools statewide, it ranks #249, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly African American (93% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 14/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 304 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 60.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Kemper Co School Dist spends $18,074 per pupil, 51% above the Mississippi average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 22.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 229 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 304 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 53 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Kemper Co School Dist also operates Kemper County Lower Elementary (285 students) and Kemper County Middle School (191 students) alongside Kemper County 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 Kemper County High School compares
Kemper County High School on the metrics families compare, against Mississippi and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.1:1 | ▼ 24% | 13.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 24% | 80.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 304 | top 73% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.1:1
Leaner classes than 88% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
304
Bigger than 33% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 24% above the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
10.1:1
students per teacher
- 24% below state mean
Top 10% in Mississippi - lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
60.2%
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
$18,074
per pupil, district-wide
- above Mississippi avg of $11,990
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 304 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
132
in-school suspensions + 97 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 43.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 75.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 53 expulsions.
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
African American 92.8%
Two or More 3.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.0%
White 1.3%
Hispanic or Latino 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 92.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 13.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 13.7, Kemper County High School is less mixed than the Mississippi school average of 41.1.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Kemper Co School Dist, which includes Kemper County High School.
$18,074
Per student
+51%
vs Mississippi
Avg $11,990
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 47.4%
State 29.7%
Federal 22.9%
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 Kemper County High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kemper County Lower Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Kemper County Middle School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Kemper County Upper Elementary | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Kemper County High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 285
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 191
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 108
- Students per teacher
- 6.8:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Mississippi, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~304 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Kemper County High School's federal record.
- Compare Kemper County High School against another school. Compare schools
- Kemper Co School Dist'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 Kemper County High School
How many students attend Kemper County High School?
Kemper County High School has 304 students enrolled. It is a high school in Dekalb, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Kemper County High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Kemper County High School is 10.1:1, which is 24% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.3:1 and 36% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Kemper County High School?
100.0% of students at Kemper County High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Kemper County High School?
The largest demographic group at Kemper County High School is African American at 92.8% of enrollment, in Dekalb, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Kemper County High School?
Kemper County High School has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Kemper County High School a good school?
Kemper County High School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 90% of Mississippi schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Mississippi 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 Kemper Co School Dist?
Besides Kemper County High School, Kemper Co School Dist also operates Kemper County Lower Elementary (285 students), Kemper County Middle School (191 students), and Kemper County Upper Elementary (108 students). See the Kemper Co School Dist 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.