Enrollment
1,766
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 190786000388
Prairie High School — Cedar Rapids, IA
Federal NCES profile for Prairie High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 28
📚 AP courses 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 21
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: College Comm School District · Iowa
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)
72.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
+20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.1%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-23% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Prairie High School compares with Iowa 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
Prairie High School reports 1,766 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 72.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% above the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 13% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 23% below the Iowa average and 46% below the national baseline. The school offers 13 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 589 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding College Comm School District spends $22,009 per pupil district-wide, above the Iowa average of $17,211 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 50.5% from local sources (property taxes), 41.8% from the state, and 7.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F), 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 Prairie High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18:1 | ▲ 20% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.1% | ▼ 23% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,766 | top 100% | — | — |
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
28.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 23% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18:1
students per teacher
— 20% above state mean
Top 90% in Iowa — lower ratio than 10% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
31.8%
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
$22,009
per pupil, district-wide
— above Iowa avg of $17,211
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 589 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
14
in-school suspensions + 138 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,766 Top 100% in Iowa — larger than 0% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 72.0
Students per teacher 18:1 +20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.1% -23% vs state
NCES ID 190786000388
Student demographics
White 70.5%
African American 12.8%
Two or More 7.3%
Hispanic or Latino 7.0%
Asian 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 70.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 589:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.8%
In-school suspensions 14
Out-of-school suspensions 138
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for College Comm School District, which includes Prairie High School.
$22,009
Per student
+28%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
+13%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 50.5%
State 41.8%
Federal 7.7%
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
- 868
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 846
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 466
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Enrollment
- 438
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 434
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
Similar high schools in Cedar Rapids
4 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
John F Kennedy High School
Standard public school
1,648 students 17.9:1 students per teacher
Thomas Jefferson High School
Standard public school
1,501 students 17.9:1 students per teacher
George Washington High School
Standard public school
1,182 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
Metro High School
Alternative education program
288 students 14.8:1 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 Prairie High School
How many students attend Prairie High School?
Prairie High School has 1,766 students enrolled. It is a high school in Cedar Rapids, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Prairie High School is 18:1, which is 20% higher than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 13% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Prairie High School?
28.1% of students at Prairie High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Prairie High School?
The largest demographic group at Prairie High School is White at 70.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Cedar Rapids, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Prairie High School?
Prairie High School has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (F) 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.