Enrollment
775
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 010336001889
Northridge Middle School — Tuscaloosa, AL
Federal NCES profile for Northridge Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 46/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 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)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.7:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
37.6%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
-36% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Northridge Middle 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 Middle School reports 775 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 47.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 37.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 36% below the Alabama average and 27% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 388 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.6% 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 46/100 (D), 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 Northridge Middle 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 | 15.7:1 | ▼ 12% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 37.6% | ▼ 36% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 775 | top 85% | — | — |
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
37.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 36% 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
15.7:1
students per teacher
— 12% below state mean
Top 19% in Alabama — lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.6%
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 388 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 41 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 775 Top 85% in Alabama — larger than 15% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 47.0
Students per teacher 15.7:1 -12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 37.6% -36% vs state
NCES ID 010336001889
Student demographics
White 49.2%
African American 36.3%
Hispanic or Latino 8.6%
Asian 3.6%
Two or More 1.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 49.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 388:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.6%
In-school suspensions 19
Out-of-school suspensions 41
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tuscaloosa City, which includes Northridge Middle 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
- 1,153
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,134
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 796
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 711
- Students per teacher
- 21.1:1
- Enrollment
- 671
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar middle schools in Tuscaloosa
3 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 Middle School
How many students attend Northridge Middle School?
Northridge Middle School has 775 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Tuscaloosa, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Northridge Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Northridge Middle School is 15.7:1, which is 12% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 1% 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 Northridge Middle School?
37.6% of students at Northridge Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Northridge Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Northridge Middle School is White at 49.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Tuscaloosa, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Northridge Middle School?
Northridge Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (D) 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.