Enrollment
286
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 290972000274
Ralph M. Captain Elem. — Clayton, MO
Federal NCES profile for Ralph M. Captain Elem., including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 62/100.
👥 Class size 62
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 75
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
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)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.4:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
-27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
10.6%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-77% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ralph M. Captain Elem. compares with Missouri 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
Ralph M. Captain Elem. reports 286 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 30.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 27% below the Missouri state mean of 12.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 41% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 10.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 77% below the Missouri average and 80% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 286 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Clayton spends $25,130 per pupil district-wide, above the Missouri average of $15,248 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 93.6% from local sources (property taxes), 3.0% from the state, and 3.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 62/100 (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 Ralph M. Captain Elem. compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Missouri state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Missouri | Missouri avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.4:1 | ▼ 27% | 12.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 10.6% | ▼ 77% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 286 | top 45% | — | — |
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
10.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 77% below the Missouri average of 46.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
9.4:1
students per teacher
— 27% below state mean
Top 13% in Missouri — lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
10.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$25,130
per pupil, district-wide
— above Missouri avg of $15,248
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 286 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 286 Top 45% in Missouri — larger than 55% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 30.0
Students per teacher 9.4:1 -27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 10.6% -77% vs state
NCES ID 290972000274
Student demographics
White 74.5%
Two or More 9.1%
African American 8.0%
Asian 5.2%
Hispanic or Latino 3.1%
Largest group: White at 74.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 286:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.1%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Clayton, which includes Ralph M. Captain Elem..
$25,130
Per student
+65%
vs Missouri
Avg $15,248
+29%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 93.6%
State 3.0%
Federal 3.3%
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
- 788
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Enrollment
- 604
- Students per teacher
- 9.6:1
- Enrollment
- 368
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Enrollment
- 321
- Students per teacher
- 10.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Clayton
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Ralph M. Captain Elem.
How many students attend Ralph M. Captain Elem.?
Ralph M. Captain Elem. has 286 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in CLAYTON, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ralph M. Captain Elem.?
The student-teacher ratio at Ralph M. Captain Elem. is 9.4:1, which is 27% lower than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 41% 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 Ralph M. Captain Elem.?
10.6% of students at Ralph M. Captain Elem. are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ralph M. Captain Elem.?
The largest demographic group at Ralph M. Captain Elem. is White at 74.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in CLAYTON, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ralph M. Captain Elem.?
Ralph M. Captain Elem. has a Resource Investment Index of 62/100 (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.