Enrollment
1,278
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 280352000003
Pearl High School — Pearl, MS
Federal NCES profile for Pearl High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 31/100.
👥 Class size 36
📚 AP courses 70
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 18
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
Pearl High School earns an F Resource Investment Index (31/100), with class sizes larger than 89% of Mississippi schools.
- F
- Resource Index · 31/100
- 16:1
- large classes for Mississippi
- 65.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,278
- students enrolled
School address
District: Pearl Public School District · Mississippi
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)
79.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.3%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pearl High School compares with Mississippi 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
Pearl High School reports 1,278 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 79.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% above the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 65.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% below the Mississippi average and 26% above the national baseline. The school offers 14 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 1278 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 33.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pearl Public School District spends $10,701 per pupil district-wide, below the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 34.5% from local sources (property taxes), 47.4% from the state, and 18.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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 Pearl High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Mississippi state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16:1 | ▲ 19% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.3% | ▼ 19% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,278 | top 97% | — | — |
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)
16 smaller classes than 39% 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')
1,278 larger than 95% 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
65.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% below the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16:1
students per teacher
— 19% above state mean
Top 89% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
33.0%
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
$10,701
per pupil, district-wide
— below Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 1278 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
223
in-school suspensions + 139 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 28.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 11 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,278 Top 97% in Mississippi — larger than 3% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 79.0
Students per teacher 16:1 +19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 65.3% -19% vs state
NCES ID 280352000003
Student demographics
African American 42.6%
White 42.3%
Hispanic or Latino 10.2%
Two or More 3.4%
Asian 1.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 42.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 14
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 1278:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 33.0%
In-school suspensions 223
Out-of-school suspensions 139
Expulsions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pearl Public School District, which includes Pearl High School.
$10,701
Per student
-20%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-45%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 34.5%
State 47.4%
Federal 18.2%
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
- 944
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Enrollment
- 763
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Enrollment
- 665
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 608
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
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 Pearl High School
How many students attend Pearl High School?
Pearl High School has 1,278 students enrolled. It is a high school in PEARL, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pearl High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pearl High School is 16:1, which is 19% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pearl High School?
65.3% of students at Pearl High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pearl High School?
The largest demographic group at Pearl High School is African American at 42.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in PEARL, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pearl High School?
Pearl High School has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (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.