Enrollment
448
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Paxton, MA
Paxton Center
Federal NCES profile for Paxton Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 251188001492
👥 S:T ratio 44
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 10
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Paxton Center earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 79% of Massachusetts schools.
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14:1
- large classes for Massachusetts
- 448
- students enrolled
Paxton Center has class sizes larger than 79% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Wachusett · Massachusetts
NCES ID 251188001492 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
32.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
+14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Paxton Center compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Paxton Center
Paxton Center is a mid-sized elementary school in Paxton, Massachusetts, enrolling 448 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 14:1 puts it in the larger third of Massachusetts schools by student-teacher ratio.
With 448 students, its enrollment sits close to the Massachusetts median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 31/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 448 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Wachusett spends $17,517 per pupil, 22% below the Massachusetts average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Wachusett also operates Wachusett Regional High (1,779 students) and Mountview Middle (773 students) alongside Paxton Center.
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 Paxton Center compares
Paxton Center on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14:1 | ▲ 14% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 448 | top 45% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14:1
Leaner classes than 57% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
448
Bigger than 55% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
14:1
students per teacher
- 14% above state mean
Top 79% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 21% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
23.0%
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
$17,517
per pupil, district-wide
- below Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 448 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 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
White 82.4%
Hispanic or Latino 8.7%
Two or More 3.8%
Asian 2.7%
African American 2.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 82.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 31.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 31.1, Paxton Center is less mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wachusett, which includes Paxton Center.
$17,517
Per student
-22%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+6%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 56.4%
State 37.2%
Federal 6.4%
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 Paxton Center Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wachusett Regional High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mountview Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Dawson | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Leroy E.Mayo | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Davis Hill Elementary | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Paxton Center's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,779
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 773
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 487
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 472
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 431
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~448 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Paxton Center's federal record.
- Compare Paxton Center against another school. Compare schools
- Wachusett's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Paxton Center
How many students attend Paxton Center?
Paxton Center has 448 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Paxton, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Paxton Center?
The student-teacher ratio at Paxton Center is 14:1, which is 14% higher than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Paxton Center?
The largest demographic group at Paxton Center is White at 82.4% of enrollment, in Paxton, MA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Paxton Center?
Paxton Center has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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).
Is Paxton Center a good school?
Paxton Center earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 79% of Massachusetts 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 Wachusett?
Besides Paxton Center, Wachusett also operates Wachusett Regional High (1,779 students), Mountview Middle (773 students), and Dawson (487 students). See the Wachusett district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.