Enrollment
19
Kansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 201047000398
Palco High — Palco, KS
Federal NCES profile for Palco High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 60
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 89
📋 Attendance 0
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 →
The verdict
Palco High earns an F Resource Investment Index (38/100), even as it posts class sizes smaller than 89% of Kansas schools.
- F
- Resource Index · 38/100
- 10:1
- small classes for Kansas
- 33.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 19
- students enrolled
School address
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)
3.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10:1
vs 14.4:1 Kansas avg
-31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.3%
vs 42.7% Kansas avg
-22% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palco High compares with Kansas 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
Palco High reports 19 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 3.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 31% below the Kansas state mean of 14.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 36% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 33.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 22% below the Kansas average and 36% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 56 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 63.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Palco spends $21,629 per pupil district-wide, above the Kansas average of $15,487 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 32.9% from local sources (property taxes), 60.6% from the state, and 6.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Palco High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kansas | Kansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10:1 | ▼ 31% | 14.4:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.3% | ▼ 22% | 42.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 19 | top 2% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
10 Among the smallest classes smaller classes than 90% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
19 larger than 3% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
33.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 22% below the Kansas average of 42.7%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10:1
students per teacher
— 31% below state mean
Top 11% in Kansas — lower ratio than 89% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
63.2%
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
$21,629
per pupil, district-wide
— above Kansas avg of $15,487
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.3 FTE
Per 56 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 21.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 26.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 19 Top 2% in Kansas — larger than 98% of 1,354 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 3.0
Students per teacher 10:1 -31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 33.3% -22% vs state
NCES ID 201047000398
Student demographics
White 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 0.3
Students per counselor 56:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 63.2%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palco, which includes Palco High.
$21,629
Per student
+40%
vs Kansas
Avg $15,487
+30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 32.9%
State 60.6%
Federal 6.5%
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
- 46
- Students per teacher
- 7.6:1
- Enrollment
- 12
- Students per teacher
- 7:1
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 Palco High
How many students attend Palco High?
Palco High has 19 students enrolled. It is a high school in Palco, KS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palco High?
The student-teacher ratio at Palco High is 10:1, which is 31% lower than the Kansas average of 14.4:1 and 36% 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 Palco High?
33.3% of students at Palco High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kansas average of 42.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palco High?
The largest demographic group at Palco High is White at 100.0%. The school serves a student body in Palco, KS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palco High?
Palco High has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (F) based on 5 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.
Is Palco High a good school?
Palco High earns an F Resource Investment Index (38/100), even as it posts class sizes smaller than 89% of Kansas schools. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.