Enrollment
785
Rhode Island · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 440087000207
Portsmouth High School — Portsmouth, RI
Federal NCES profile for Portsmouth High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 54
📚 AP courses 90
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 39
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
Portsmouth High School earns a C- Resource Investment Index (52/100), with class sizes smaller than 78% of Rhode Island schools.
- C-
- Resource Index · 52/100
- 11.5:1
- small classes for Rhode Island
- 11.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 785
- students enrolled
School address
District: Portsmouth · Rhode Island
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)
69.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 13.4:1 Rhode Island avg
-14% 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
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
Portsmouth High School reports 785 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 69.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% below the Rhode Island state mean of 13.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 27% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 11.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 70% below the Rhode Island average and 77% below the national baseline. The school offers 18 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 262 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Portsmouth spends $18,687 per pupil district-wide, below the Rhode Island average of $20,315 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 78.4% from local sources (property taxes), 13.5% from the state, and 8.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-), 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 Portsmouth High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Rhode Island state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Rhode Island | Rhode Island avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 14% | 13.4:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 11.8% | ▼ 70% | 39.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 785 | top 90% | — | — |
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)
12 Among the smallest classes smaller classes than 82% 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')
785 larger than 85% 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
11.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 70% below the Rhode Island average of 39.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
— 14% below state mean
Top 22% in Rhode Island — lower ratio than 78% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
24.3%
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
$18,687
per pupil, district-wide
— below Rhode Island avg of $20,315
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
Enrollment 785 Top 90% in Rhode Island — larger than 10% of 309 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 69.0
Students per teacher 11.5:1 -14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 11.8% -70% vs state
NCES ID 440087000207
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.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 18
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 262:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.3%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 11
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 604
- Students per teacher
- 11.2:1
- Enrollment
- 409
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 316
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
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 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 11.5:1, which is 14% lower than the Rhode Island average of 13.4:1 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%. The school serves a diverse student body in Portsmouth, RI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Portsmouth High School?
Portsmouth High School has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-) 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.
Is Portsmouth High School a good school?
Portsmouth High School earns a C- Resource Investment Index (52/100), with class sizes smaller than 78% of Rhode Island schools. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.