Enrollment
575
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 220156002006
Northwest High School — Opelousas, LA
Federal NCES profile for Northwest High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 35/100.
👥 Class size 34
📚 AP courses 20
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 8
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: St. Landry Parish · Louisiana
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)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.6:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
67.4%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Northwest High School compares with Louisiana 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
Northwest High School reports 575 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 35.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 11% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 67.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 8% above the Louisiana average and 30% above the national baseline. The school offers 4 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 36.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding St. Landry Parish spends $14,633 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.6% from local sources (property taxes), 44.1% from the state, and 27.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (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 Northwest High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.6:1 | ▼ 11% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 67.4% | ▲ 8% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 575 | top 70% | — | — |
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
67.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 8% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.6:1
students per teacher
— 11% below state mean
Top 39% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
36.7%
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
$14,633
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 288 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 124 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 21.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 11 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 575 Top 70% in Louisiana — larger than 30% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 35.0
Students per teacher 16.6:1 -11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 67.4% +8% vs state
NCES ID 220156002006
Student demographics
African American 73.7%
White 21.2%
Hispanic or Latino 4.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Two or More 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 73.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 4
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 288:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 36.7%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 124
Expulsions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for St. Landry Parish, which includes Northwest High School.
$14,633
Per student
-18%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.6%
State 44.1%
Federal 27.3%
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
- 767
- Students per teacher
- 20.7:1
- Enrollment
- 698
- Students per teacher
- 21:1
- Enrollment
- 616
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 606
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 567
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
Similar high schools in Opelousas
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 575 students enrolled. It is a high school in Opelousas, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Northwest High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Northwest High School is 16.6:1, which is 11% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 4% higher 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 Northwest High School?
67.4% of students at Northwest High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Northwest High School?
The largest demographic group at Northwest High School is African American at 73.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Opelousas, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Northwest High School?
Northwest High School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (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.