Enrollment
265
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 010273001102
Pickens County High School — Reform, AL
Federal NCES profile for Pickens County High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 53/100.
👥 Class size 31
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 65
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: Pickens County · Alabama
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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.2:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
68.3%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pickens County High School compares with Alabama 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
Pickens County High School reports 265 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 3% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 8% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 68.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 16% above the Alabama average and 32% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 265 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 14.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pickens County spends $14,198 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 18.7% from local sources (property taxes), 60.1% from the state, and 21.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-), 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 Pickens County High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.2:1 | ▼ 3% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 68.3% | ▲ 16% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 265 | top 15% | — | — |
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
68.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 16% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.2:1
students per teacher
— 3% below state mean
Top 42% in Alabama — lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
14.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$14,198
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 265 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 265 Top 15% in Alabama — larger than 85% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 17.2:1 -3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 68.3% +16% vs state
NCES ID 010273001102
Student demographics
African American 72.5%
White 20.0%
Two or More 3.8%
Hispanic or Latino 3.4%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: African American at 72.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 265:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 14.0%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pickens County, which includes Pickens County High School.
$14,198
Per student
-2%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 18.7%
State 60.1%
Federal 21.2%
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
- 545
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Enrollment
- 473
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 415
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Enrollment
- 338
- Students per teacher
- 26.7:1
- Enrollment
- 174
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
Similar other schools in Reform
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Pickens County High School
How many students attend Pickens County High School?
Pickens County High School has 265 students enrolled. It is a other school in Reform, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pickens County High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Pickens County High School is 17.2:1, which is 3% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 8% higher than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Pickens County High School?
68.3% of students at Pickens County High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Pickens County High School?
The largest demographic group at Pickens County High School is African American at 72.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Reform, AL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pickens County High School?
Pickens County High School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (C-) 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.