Enrollment
297
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 450390800772
Palmetto Middle — Mullins, SC
Federal NCES profile for Palmetto Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 28/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 41
📋 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
District: Marion 10 · South Carolina
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)
13.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
25.7:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+80% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palmetto Middle compares with South Carolina 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 Middle reports 297 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 13.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 25.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 80% above the South Carolina state mean of 14.3:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 62% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 100.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% above the South Carolina average and 93% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 297 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 49.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Marion 10 spends $14,103 per pupil district-wide, below the South Carolina average of $17,182 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 18.3% from local sources (property taxes), 53.6% from the state, and 28.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (F), 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 Palmetto Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against South Carolina state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 25.7:1 | ▲ 80% | 14.3:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 35% | 74.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 297 | top 16% | — | — |
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
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% above the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
25.7:1
students per teacher
— 80% above state mean
Top 99% in South Carolina — lower ratio than 1% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
49.2%
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
$14,103
per pupil, district-wide
— below South Carolina avg of $17,182
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 297 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
163
in-school suspensions + 215 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 54.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 127.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 297 Top 16% in South Carolina — larger than 84% of 1,215 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 13.0
Students per teacher 25.7:1 +80% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% +35% vs state
NCES ID 450390800772
Student demographics
African American 68.0%
White 19.9%
Hispanic or Latino 6.1%
Two or More 5.7%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 68.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 297:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 49.2%
In-school suspensions 163
Out-of-school suspensions 215
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Marion 10, which includes Palmetto Middle.
$14,103
Per student
-18%
vs South Carolina
Avg $17,182
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 18.3%
State 53.6%
Federal 28.1%
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
- 572
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 557
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 431
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Enrollment
- 395
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Enrollment
- 390
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
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 Palmetto Middle
How many students attend Palmetto Middle?
Palmetto Middle has 297 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mullins, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palmetto Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Palmetto Middle is 25.7:1, which is 80% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 62% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Palmetto Middle?
100.0% of students at Palmetto Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palmetto Middle?
The largest demographic group at Palmetto Middle is African American at 68.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mullins, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palmetto Middle?
Palmetto Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (F) based on 4 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.