Enrollment
451
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Gurley, AL
Madison County High School
Federal NCES profile for Madison County High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 010222000556
👥 S:T ratio 42
📚 AP courses 60
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Madison County High School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Alabama schools.
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.5:1
- small classes for Alabama
- 33.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 451
- students enrolled
Madison County High School has class sizes smaller than 87% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Madison County · Alabama
NCES ID 010222000556 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.5:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
-18% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Madison County High School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Madison County High School
Madison County High School is a mid-sized high school in Gurley, Alabama, enrolling 451 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 14.5:1, Madison County High School is leaner than roughly 87% of Alabama schools and 18% under the state's 17.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 33.3% free-meal eligibility runs 43% below the Alabama average.
With 451 students, its enrollment sits close to the Alabama median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,365 scored Alabama schools.
Against 171 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #82.
Its student body is led by White (70%) and American Indian / Alaska Native (9%) (diversity index 48/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 12 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 226 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Madison County also operates Sparkman High School (1,770 students) and Hazel Green High School (1,454 students) alongside Madison 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 Madison County High School compares
Madison County High School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.5:1 | ▼ 18% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.3% | ▼ 43% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 451 | top 54% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.5:1
Leaner classes than 52% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
451
Bigger than 55% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
33.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 43% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.5:1
students per teacher
- 18% below state mean
Top 13% in Alabama - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
24.8%
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
$10,543
per pupil, district-wide
- below Alabama avg of $12,491
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 226 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
47
in-school suspensions + 25 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
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 70.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 9.3%
African American 8.4%
Hispanic or Latino 7.8%
Two or More 3.8%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 70.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 48.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 48.3, Madison County High School is more mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
AP courses offered 12
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Madison County, which includes Madison County High School.
$10,543
Per student
-16%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.2%
State 55.4%
Federal 11.5%
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.
How Madison County High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparkman High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hazel Green High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Buckhorn High School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Meridianville Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Monrovia Middle School | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Madison County High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,770
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 1,454
- Students per teacher
- 21.7:1
- Resource Index
- 21/100
- Enrollment
- 1,320
- Students per teacher
- 19.7:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 1,100
- Students per teacher
- 32.4:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 988
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~451 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Madison County High School's federal record.
- Compare Madison County High School against another school. Compare schools
- Madison County'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 Madison County High School
How many students attend Madison County High School?
Madison County High School has 451 students enrolled. It is a high school in Gurley, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Madison County High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Madison County High School is 14.5:1, which is 18% lower than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 8% 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 Madison County High School?
33.3% of students at Madison County High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Madison County High School?
The largest demographic group at Madison County High School is White at 70.3% of enrollment, in Gurley, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Madison County High School?
Madison County High School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Madison County High School a good school?
Madison County High School earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Alabama 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 Madison County?
Besides Madison County High School, Madison County also operates Sparkman High School (1,770 students), Hazel Green High School (1,454 students), and Buckhorn High School (1,320 students). See the Madison County 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.