Enrollment
785
Rhode Island · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Portsmouth, RI
Portsmouth High School
Federal NCES profile for Portsmouth High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 440087000207
👥 S:T ratio 54
📚 AP courses 90
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 39
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Portsmouth High School earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of Rhode Island schools.
- #4 of 4
- public schools in Portsmouth · Resource Index
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.4:1
- small classes for Rhode Island
- 11.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Portsmouth High School has class sizes smaller than 77% of Rhode Island schools. Computed live against every Rhode Island school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Portsmouth High School ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Portsmouth, RI.
School address
District: Portsmouth · Rhode Island
NCES ID 440087000207 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
69.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.4:1
vs 13.8:1 Rhode Island avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
11.8%
vs 39.6% Rhode Island avg
-70% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Portsmouth High School compares with Rhode Island and U.S. medians
What stands out at Portsmouth High School
Portsmouth High School is a lower-poverty, large high school in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, enrolling 785 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of Rhode Island schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 11.8% free-meal eligibility runs 70% below the Rhode Island average.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Rhode Island, bigger than 90% of state schools at 785 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 308 scored Rhode Island schools.
Against 33 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #15.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 30/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 18 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 262 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Portsmouth also operates Portsmouth Middle School (604 students) and Howard Hathaway School (409 students) alongside Portsmouth High School.
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 Portsmouth High School compares
Portsmouth High School on the metrics families compare, against Rhode Island and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Rhode Island | Rhode Island avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.4:1 | ▼ 17% | 13.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 11.8% | ▼ 70% | 39.6% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 785 | top 10% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.4:1
Leaner classes than 80% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
785
Bigger than 85% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
11.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 70% below the Rhode Island average of 39.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.4:1
students per teacher
- 17% below state mean
Top 23% in Rhode Island - lower ratio than 77% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.3%
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
$18,687
per pupil, district-wide
- below Rhode Island avg of $20,315
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 262 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.5 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 83.3%
Hispanic or Latino 8.0%
Two or More 4.0%
Asian 2.2%
African American 1.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 83.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.7, Portsmouth High School is less mixed than the Rhode Island school average of 47.0.
Programs
AP courses offered 18
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Portsmouth, which includes Portsmouth High School.
$18,687
Per student
-8%
vs Rhode Island
Avg $20,315
+13%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 78.4%
State 13.5%
Federal 8.1%
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 Portsmouth High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth Middle School | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Howard Hathaway School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Melville School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Portsmouth High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 604
- Students per teacher
- 11:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 409
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 316
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Rhode Island, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~785 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Portsmouth High School's federal record.
- Compare Portsmouth High School against another school. Compare schools
- Portsmouth'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 Portsmouth High School
How many students attend Portsmouth High School?
Portsmouth High School has 785 students enrolled. It is a high school in Portsmouth, RI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Portsmouth High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Portsmouth High School is 11.4:1, which is 17% lower than the Rhode Island average of 13.8:1 and 27% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Portsmouth High School?
11.8% of students at Portsmouth High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Rhode Island average of 39.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Portsmouth High School?
The largest demographic group at Portsmouth High School is White at 83.3% of enrollment, in Portsmouth, RI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Portsmouth High School?
Portsmouth High School has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Portsmouth High School rank among public schools in Portsmouth?
By Resource Investment Index, Portsmouth High School ranks #4 of 4 public schools in Portsmouth, RI. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Portsmouth on the city page.
Is Portsmouth High School a good school?
Portsmouth High School earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of Rhode Island 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 Portsmouth?
Besides Portsmouth High School, Portsmouth also operates Portsmouth Middle School (604 students), Howard Hathaway School (409 students), and Melville School (316 students). See the Portsmouth 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.