Enrollment
264
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 051173000893
Poyen High School — Poyen, AR
Federal NCES profile for Poyen High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 60/100.
👥 Class size 74
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 49
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: Poyen School District · Arkansas
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)
37.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
6.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
-52% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
38.3%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Poyen High School compares with Arkansas 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
Poyen High School reports 264 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 37.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 6.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 52% below the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 59% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 38.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 35% below the Arkansas average and 26% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 264 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Poyen School District spends $16,584 per pupil district-wide, above the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 12.6% from local sources (property taxes), 74.8% from the state, and 12.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (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 Poyen High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 6.5:1 | ▼ 52% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 38.3% | ▼ 35% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 264 | top 25% | — | — |
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
38.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 35% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
6.5:1
students per teacher
— 52% below state mean
Top 8% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
20.5%
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
$16,584
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 264 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
27
in-school suspensions + 5 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 264 Top 25% in Arkansas — larger than 75% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 37.0
Students per teacher 6.5:1 -52% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 38.3% -35% vs state
NCES ID 051173000893
Student demographics
White 91.7%
Hispanic or Latino 4.5%
Two or More 2.7%
Asian 0.8%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: White at 91.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 264:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.5%
In-school suspensions 27
Out-of-school suspensions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Poyen School District, which includes Poyen High School.
$16,584
Per student
+16%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 12.6%
State 74.8%
Federal 12.6%
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
- 293
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
Similar other schools in Poyen
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 Poyen High School
How many students attend Poyen High School?
Poyen High School has 264 students enrolled. It is a other school in POYEN, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Poyen High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Poyen High School is 6.5:1, which is 52% lower than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 59% lower 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 Poyen High School?
38.3% of students at Poyen High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Poyen High School?
The largest demographic group at Poyen High School is White at 91.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in POYEN, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Poyen High School?
Poyen High School has a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (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.