Enrollment
1,153
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 010336002102
Northridge High School — Tuscaloosa, AL
Federal NCES profile for Northridge High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 10
📚 AP courses 70
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 42
📋 Attendance 53
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: Tuscaloosa 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)
51.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.5:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
+26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.1%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-42% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Northridge 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
Northridge High School reports 1,153 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 51.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 26% 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 42% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 42% below the Alabama average and 34% below the national baseline. The school offers 14 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 288 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Tuscaloosa City spends $14,403 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.7% from local sources (property taxes), 42.3% from the state, and 18.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D), 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 Northridge 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 | 22.5:1 | ▲ 26% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.1% | ▼ 42% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,153 | top 95% | — | — |
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
34.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 42% 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
22.5:1
students per teacher
— 26% above state mean
Top 96% in Alabama — lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
19.0%
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
$14,403
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
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 288 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
53
in-school suspensions + 119 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,153 Top 95% in Alabama — larger than 5% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 51.0
Students per teacher 22.5:1 +26% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.1% -42% vs state
NCES ID 010336002102
Student demographics
White 52.4%
African American 35.7%
Hispanic or Latino 6.2%
Asian 4.0%
Two or More 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 52.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 14
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 288:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.0%
In-school suspensions 53
Out-of-school suspensions 119
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tuscaloosa City, which includes Northridge High School.
$14,403
Per student
-1%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.7%
State 42.3%
Federal 18.0%
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
- 1,134
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 796
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 775
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 711
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 671
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar high schools in Tuscaloosa
3 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Northridge High School
How many students attend Northridge High School?
Northridge High School has 1,153 students enrolled. It is a high school in Tuscaloosa, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Northridge High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Northridge High School is 22.5:1, which is 26% higher than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 42% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Northridge High School?
34.1% of students at Northridge High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Northridge High School?
The largest demographic group at Northridge High School is White at 52.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Tuscaloosa, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Northridge High School?
Northridge High School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) 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.