Enrollment
1,447
North Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 370462002800
Porter Ridge Middle School — Indian Trail, NC
Federal NCES profile for Porter Ridge Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 27/100.
👥 Class size 17
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 4
📋 Attendance 17
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: Union County Public Schools · North 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)
62.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.8:1
vs 16.4:1 North Carolina avg
+27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.0%
vs 66.0% North Carolina avg
-45% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Porter Ridge Middle School compares with North 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
Porter Ridge Middle School reports 1,447 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 62.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 27% above the North Carolina state mean of 16.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 31% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 36.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 45% below the North Carolina average and 31% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 482 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 33.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Union County Public Schools spends $11,790 per pupil district-wide, below the North Carolina average of $13,042 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 28.9% from local sources (property taxes), 55.8% from the state, and 15.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (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 Porter Ridge Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against North 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 North Carolina | North Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.8:1 | ▲ 27% | 16.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 36.0% | ▼ 45% | 66.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,447 | top 96% | — | — |
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
36.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 45% below the North Carolina average of 66.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.8:1
students per teacher
— 27% above state mean
Top 93% in North Carolina — lower ratio than 7% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
33.2%
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
$11,790
per pupil, district-wide
— below North Carolina avg of $13,042
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 482 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
97
in-school suspensions + 109 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 10 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,447 Top 96% in North Carolina — larger than 4% of 2,703 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 62.0
Students per teacher 20.8:1 +27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 36.0% -45% vs state
NCES ID 370462002800
Student demographics
White 47.5%
Hispanic or Latino 24.1%
African American 13.2%
Asian 8.2%
Two or More 6.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 47.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 482:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 33.2%
In-school suspensions 97
Out-of-school suspensions 109
Expulsions 10
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Union County Public Schools, which includes Porter Ridge Middle School.
$11,790
Per student
-10%
vs North Carolina
Avg $13,042
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 28.9%
State 55.8%
Federal 15.3%
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
- 1,961
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,899
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,857
- Students per teacher
- 23.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,809
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,324
- Students per teacher
- 23:1
Similar middle schools in Indian Trail
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 Porter Ridge Middle School
How many students attend Porter Ridge Middle School?
Porter Ridge Middle School has 1,447 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Indian Trail, NC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Porter Ridge Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Porter Ridge Middle School is 20.8:1, which is 27% higher than the North Carolina average of 16.4:1 and 31% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Porter Ridge Middle School?
36.0% of students at Porter Ridge Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Carolina average of 66.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Porter Ridge Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Porter Ridge Middle School is White at 47.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Indian Trail, NC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Porter Ridge Middle School?
Porter Ridge Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (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.