Enrollment
864
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 010252001062
Muscle Shoals High School — Muscle Shoals, AL
Federal NCES profile for Muscle Shoals High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 21
📚 AP courses 40
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 14
📋 Attendance 52
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: Muscle Shoals City · Alabama
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)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.8:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
+11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.6%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Muscle Shoals High School compares with Alabama 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
Muscle Shoals High School reports 864 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 11% above the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 25% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 33.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 43% below the Alabama average and 35% below the national baseline. The school offers 8 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 432 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Muscle Shoals City spends $13,322 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 34.9% from local sources (property taxes), 53.6% from the state, and 11.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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 Muscle Shoals High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.8:1 | ▲ 11% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.6% | ▼ 43% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 864 | top 89% | — | — |
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
33.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 43% below the Alabama average of 58.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.8:1
students per teacher
— 11% above state mean
Top 83% in Alabama — lower ratio than 17% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.1%
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
$13,322
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 432 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
129
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 14.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 864 Top 89% in Alabama — larger than 11% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 19.8:1 +11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 33.6% -43% vs state
NCES ID 010252001062
Student demographics
White 63.5%
African American 16.2%
Hispanic or Latino 8.6%
Two or More 6.8%
Asian 3.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.2%
Largest group: White at 63.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 8
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 432:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.1%
In-school suspensions 129
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Muscle Shoals City, which includes Muscle Shoals High School.
$13,322
Per student
-8%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 34.9%
State 53.6%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 647
- Students per teacher
- —
- Enrollment
- 642
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Enrollment
- 356
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 236
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 234
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
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 Muscle Shoals High School
How many students attend Muscle Shoals High School?
Muscle Shoals High School has 864 students enrolled. It is a high school in Muscle Shoals, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Muscle Shoals High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Muscle Shoals High School is 19.8:1, which is 11% higher than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 25% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Muscle Shoals High School?
33.6% of students at Muscle Shoals High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Muscle Shoals High School?
The largest demographic group at Muscle Shoals High School is White at 63.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Muscle Shoals, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Muscle Shoals High School?
Muscle Shoals High School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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.