Other / mixed grade configuration · Tuscaloosa, AL

Oakdale Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Oakdale Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010336001257
0/100100/10043/100
👥 S:T ratio
44
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
42
📋 Attendance
14
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Oakdale Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 91% of Alabama schools.

#5 of 13
schools in Tuscaloosa · Resource Index
43
Resource Index · Typical
13.9:1
small classes for Alabama
75.8%
free-lunch eligible

Oakdale Elementary School has class sizes smaller than 91% of Alabama schools. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Oakdale Elementary School ranks #5 of 13 schools in Tuscaloosa, AL.

School address

Enrollment

292

Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

21.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

13.9:1

vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg

-21% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

75.8%

vs 58.8% Alabama avg

+29% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Oakdale Elementary School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Oakdale Elementary School

Oakdale Elementary School is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, enrolling 292 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 13.9:1, Oakdale Elementary School is leaner than roughly 91% of Alabama schools and 21% under the state's 17.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 75.8% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 292 puts it in the smaller third of Alabama schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,365 scored Alabama schools.

Against 249 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #94.

Its student body is predominantly African American (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 18/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 292 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 18.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Tuscaloosa's public schools, it stands alongside Rock Quarry Elementary School (671 students): Oakdale Elementary School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (13.9:1 vs 18.1:1).

Tuscaloosa City also operates Northridge High School (1,153 students) and Paul W Bryant High School (1,134 students) alongside Oakdale Elementary School.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Oakdale Elementary School compares

Oakdale Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Alabama Alabama avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 13.9:1 ▼ 21% 17.7:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 75.8% ▲ 29% 58.8% 51.7%
Enrollment 292 top 82% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

13.9:1
Leaner classes than 58% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
292
Bigger than 31% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
75.8%
free-lunch eligible - 29% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.9:1
students per teacher - 21% below state mean
Top 9% in Alabama - lower ratio than 91% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
34.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,947
per pupil, district-wide - above Alabama avg of $12,491
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 292 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

African American 90.4%
Hispanic or Latino 5.5%
Two or More 2.4%
White 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%

Largest group: African American at 90.4% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 17.9/100

Simpson diversity index - at 17.9, Oakdale Elementary School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tuscaloosa City, which includes Oakdale Elementary School.

$12,947
Per student
+4%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
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.

How Oakdale Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Northridge High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Paul W Bryant High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Central High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Northridge Middle School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Eastwood Middle School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Oakdale Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Tuscaloosa City · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools in Tuscaloosa

6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Oakdale Elementary School's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Oakdale Elementary School

How many students attend Oakdale Elementary School?

Oakdale Elementary School has 292 students enrolled. It is a public school in Tuscaloosa, AL.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Oakdale Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Oakdale Elementary School is 13.9:1, which is 21% lower than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Oakdale Elementary School?

75.8% of students at Oakdale Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Oakdale Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Oakdale Elementary School is African American at 90.4% of enrollment, in Tuscaloosa, AL.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Oakdale Elementary School?

Oakdale Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Oakdale Elementary School rank among schools in Tuscaloosa?

By Resource Investment Index, Oakdale Elementary School ranks #5 of 13 schools in Tuscaloosa, AL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Tuscaloosa on the city page.

Is Oakdale Elementary School a good school?

Oakdale Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 91% of Alabama schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Tuscaloosa City?

Besides Oakdale Elementary School, Tuscaloosa City also operates Northridge High School (1,153 students), Paul W Bryant High School (1,134 students), and Central High School (796 students). See the Tuscaloosa City district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.