Enrollment
2,185
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 120123001232
Palmetto High School — Palmetto, FL
Federal NCES profile for Palmetto High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 26/100.
👥 Class size 9
📚 AP courses 25
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 27
📋 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 →
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)
92.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.8:1
vs 18.3:1 Florida avg
+25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
54.0%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palmetto High School compares with Florida 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
Palmetto High School reports 2,185 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 92.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 22.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% above the Florida state mean of 18.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 43% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 54.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 4% above the Florida average and 4% above the national baseline. The school offers 5 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 364 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 42.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Manatee spends $13,252 per pupil district-wide, above the Florida average of $12,756 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 58.3% from local sources (property taxes), 25.8% from the state, and 15.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (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 Palmetto High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Florida state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.8:1 | ▲ 25% | 18.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 54.0% | ▲ 4% | 52.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,185 | top 97% | — | — |
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
54.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 4% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
22.8:1
students per teacher
— 25% above state mean
Top 89% in Florida — lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
42.8%
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
$13,252
per pupil, district-wide
— above Florida avg of $12,756
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 364 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
516
in-school suspensions + 321 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 23.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 38.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 2,185 Top 97% in Florida — larger than 3% of 4,029 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 92.0
Students per teacher 22.8:1 +25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 54.0% +4% vs state
NCES ID 120123001232
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 39.8%
White 36.4%
African American 17.6%
Two or More 4.8%
Asian 1.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 39.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 5
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 364:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 42.8%
In-school suspensions 516
Out-of-school suspensions 321
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Manatee, which includes Palmetto High School.
$13,252
Per student
+4%
vs Florida
Avg $12,756
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 58.3%
State 25.8%
Federal 15.9%
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
- 2,422
- Students per teacher
- 24.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,266
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,051
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,998
- Students per teacher
- 21.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,705
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
Similar high schools in Palmetto
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 Palmetto High School
How many students attend Palmetto High School?
Palmetto High School has 2,185 students enrolled. It is a high school in PALMETTO, FL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palmetto High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Palmetto High School is 22.8:1, which is 25% higher than the Florida average of 18.3:1 and 43% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Palmetto High School?
54.0% of students at Palmetto High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palmetto High School?
The largest demographic group at Palmetto High School is Hispanic or Latino at 39.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in PALMETTO, FL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palmetto High School?
Palmetto High School has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (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.