Enrollment
59
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 291851002719
Liberal Middle — Liberal, MO
Federal NCES profile for Liberal Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 66/100.
👥 Class size 62
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 70
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: Liberal R-Ii · Missouri
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)
7.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.4:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
-27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.8%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-38% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Liberal Middle compares with Missouri 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
Liberal Middle reports 59 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 7.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 27% below the Missouri state mean of 12.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 41% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 38% below the Missouri average and 44% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 197 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Liberal R-Ii spends $15,958 per pupil district-wide, above the Missouri average of $15,248 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 55.8% from local sources (property taxes), 30.8% from the state, and 13.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 66/100 (B-), calculated from 4 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 Liberal Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Missouri state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.4:1 | ▼ 27% | 12.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.8% | ▼ 38% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 59 | top 7% | — | — |
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
28.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 38% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
9.4:1
students per teacher
— 27% below state mean
Top 13% in Missouri — lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
11.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$15,958
per pupil, district-wide
— above Missouri avg of $15,248
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.3 FTE
Per 197 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 59 Top 7% in Missouri — larger than 93% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 7.0
Students per teacher 9.4:1 -27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.8% -38% vs state
NCES ID 291851002719
Student demographics
White 93.2%
Two or More 3.4%
Hispanic or Latino 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.7%
Largest group: White at 93.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 0.3
Students per counselor 197:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.9%
In-school suspensions 6
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Liberal R-Ii, which includes Liberal Middle.
$15,958
Per student
+5%
vs Missouri
Avg $15,248
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 55.8%
State 30.8%
Federal 13.4%
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
- 116
- Students per teacher
- 9.9:1
- Enrollment
- 96
- Students per teacher
- 10.5:1
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 Liberal Middle
How many students attend Liberal Middle?
Liberal Middle has 59 students enrolled. It is a middle school in LIBERAL, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Liberal Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Liberal Middle is 9.4:1, which is 27% lower than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 41% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Liberal Middle?
28.8% of students at Liberal Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Liberal Middle?
The largest demographic group at Liberal Middle is White at 93.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in LIBERAL, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Liberal Middle?
Liberal Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 66/100 (B-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.