Enrollment
223
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Dixons Mills, AL
Marengo High School
Federal NCES profile for Marengo High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 65/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010225000856
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 55
📋 Attendance 83
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Marengo High School earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of Alabama schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Alabama schools.
- 65
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.4:1
- small classes for Alabama
- 88.7%
- free-lunch eligible
- 223
- students enrolled
Marengo High School has class sizes smaller than 96% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Marengo County · Alabama
NCES ID 010225000856 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg
-30% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
88.7%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Marengo High School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians
What stands out at Marengo High School
Marengo High School is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Dixons Mills, Alabama, enrolling 223 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 12.4:1, Marengo High School is leaner than roughly 96% of Alabama schools and 30% under the state's 17.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 88.7% of students qualify for free meals, 51% above the Alabama average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 223 puts it in the smaller third of Alabama schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 99% of the 1,365 Alabama schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 90 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Alabama schools statewide, it ranks #3, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly African American (99% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 2/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 223 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.7% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 23.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Marengo County also operates Sweet Water High School (600 students) and Amelia L Johnson High School (142 students) alongside Marengo 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 Marengo High School compares
Marengo 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 | 12.4:1 | ▼ 30% | 17.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 88.7% | ▲ 51% | 58.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 223 | top 90% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
223
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
88.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 30% below state mean
Top 4% in Alabama - lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
6.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$14,299
per pupil, district-wide
- above Alabama avg of $12,491
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 223 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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 99.1%
White 0.9%
Largest group: African American at 99.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 1.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 1.8, Marengo High School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Marengo County, which includes Marengo High School.
$14,299
Per student
+14%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 25.4%
State 51.4%
Federal 23.2%
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 Marengo High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweet Water High School | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Amelia L Johnson High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Marengo High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 600
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 142
- Students per teacher
- 8.9:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
Similar other 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 (~223 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Marengo High School's federal record.
- Compare Marengo High School against another school. Compare schools
- Marengo 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 Marengo High School
How many students attend Marengo High School?
Marengo High School has 223 students enrolled. It is a public school in Dixons Mills, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Marengo High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Marengo High School is 12.4:1, which is 30% lower than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 21% 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 Marengo High School?
88.7% of students at Marengo High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Marengo High School?
The largest demographic group at Marengo High School is African American at 99.1% of enrollment, in Dixons Mills, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Marengo High School?
Marengo High School has a Resource Investment Index of 65/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Marengo High School a good school?
Marengo High School earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 96% of Alabama schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Marengo County?
Besides Marengo High School, Marengo County also operates Sweet Water High School (600 students) and Amelia L Johnson High School (142 students). See the Marengo 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.