Enrollment
217
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 250528000877
Plum Cove School — Gloucester, MA
Federal NCES profile for Plum Cove School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 49
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 62
📋 Attendance 53
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: Gloucester · Massachusetts
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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.7:1
vs 12.1:1 Massachusetts avg
+5% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Plum Cove School compares with Massachusetts 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
Plum Cove School reports 217 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% above the Massachusetts state mean of 12.1:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 20% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Counselor coverage works out to roughly 192 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Gloucester spends $33,216 per pupil district-wide, above the Massachusetts average of $28,509 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 69.5% from local sources (property taxes), 21.9% from the state, and 8.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), 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 Plum Cove School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Massachusetts state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.7:1 | ▲ 5% | 12.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Enrollment | 217 | 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.
Staffing depth
12.7:1
students per teacher
— 5% above state mean
Top 65% in Massachusetts — lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
18.9%
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
$33,216
per pupil, district-wide
— above Massachusetts avg of $28,509
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.1 FTE
Per 192 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 217 Top 16% in Massachusetts — larger than 84% of 1,831 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 12.7:1 +5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible —
NCES ID 250528000877
Student demographics
White 84.8%
Two or More 6.5%
Hispanic or Latino 6.0%
African American 1.8%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: White at 84.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.1
Students per counselor 192:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gloucester, which includes Plum Cove School.
$33,216
Per student
+17%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $28,509
+70%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 69.5%
State 21.9%
Federal 8.6%
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
- 776
- Students per teacher
- 10.3:1
- Enrollment
- 619
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Enrollment
- 382
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Enrollment
- 292
- Students per teacher
- 9.7:1
- Enrollment
- 216
- Students per teacher
- 8.6:1
Similar elementary schools in Gloucester
4 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
West Parish
Standard public school
382 students 12.9:1 students per teacher
Beeman Memorial
Standard public school
292 students 9.7:1 students per teacher
Veterans Memorial
Standard public school
216 students 8.6:1 students per teacher
East Gloucester Elementary
Standard public school
181 students 9.5:1 students per teacher
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 Plum Cove School
How many students attend Plum Cove School?
Plum Cove School has 217 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Gloucester, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Plum Cove School?
The student-teacher ratio at Plum Cove School is 12.7:1, which is 5% higher than the Massachusetts average of 12.1:1 and 20% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Plum Cove School?
The largest demographic group at Plum Cove School is White at 84.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Gloucester, MA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Plum Cove School?
Plum Cove School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.