Enrollment
1,574
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 193051002303
Northwest High School — Waukee, IA
Federal NCES profile for Northwest High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
📚 AP courses 80
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 21
📋 Attendance 42
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: Waukee Comm School District · Iowa
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.
Free-lunch eligible
11.1%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-70% vs state
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
Northwest High School reports 1,574 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 11.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 70% below the Iowa average and 79% below the national baseline. The school offers 16 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 394 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 23.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Waukee Comm School District spends $18,190 per pupil district-wide, above the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 49.3% from local sources (property taxes), 44.6% from the state, and 6.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-), 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 Northwest High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 11.1% | ▼ 70% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,574 | top 99% | — | — |
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
11.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 70% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Engagement
23.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$18,190
per pupil, district-wide
— above Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 394 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 54 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,574 Top 99% in Iowa — larger than 1% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) —
Students per teacher —
Free-lunch eligible 11.1% -70% vs state
NCES ID 193051002303
Student demographics
White 76.2%
Hispanic or Latino 7.1%
African American 5.8%
Asian 5.8%
Two or More 5.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 76.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 16
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 394:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 23.4%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 54
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Waukee Comm School District, which includes Northwest High School.
$18,190
Per student
+6%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-7%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 49.3%
State 44.6%
Federal 6.1%
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
- 1,375
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,092
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Enrollment
- 992
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 867
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 708
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar high schools in Waukee
1 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 Northwest High School
How many students attend Northwest High School?
Northwest High School has 1,574 students enrolled. It is a high school in Waukee, IA.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Northwest High School?
11.1% of students at Northwest High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Northwest High School?
The largest demographic group at Northwest High School is White at 76.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Waukee, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Northwest High School?
Northwest High School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-) based on 4 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.