Enrollment
1,490
Kentucky · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 210051002206
Randall K. Cooper High School — Union, KY
Federal NCES profile for Randall K. Cooper High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 49/100.
👥 Class size 27
📚 AP courses 80
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 1
📋 Attendance 66
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: Boone County · Kentucky
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)
80.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.3:1
vs 15.6:1 Kentucky avg
+17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
26.3%
vs 59.2% Kentucky avg
-56% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Randall K. Cooper High School compares with Kentucky 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
Randall K. Cooper High School reports 1,490 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 80.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 17% above the Kentucky state mean of 15.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 15% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 26.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 56% below the Kentucky average and 49% below the national baseline. The school offers 16 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 497 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Boone County spends $14,519 per pupil district-wide, below the Kentucky average of $15,105 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 51.3% from local sources (property taxes), 38.1% from the state, and 10.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D), 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 Randall K. Cooper High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kentucky state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kentucky | Kentucky avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.3:1 | ▲ 17% | 15.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 26.3% | ▼ 56% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,490 | top 98% | — | — |
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
26.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 56% below the Kentucky average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.3:1
students per teacher
— 17% above state mean
Top 88% in Kentucky — lower ratio than 12% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.7%
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
$14,519
per pupil, district-wide
— below Kentucky avg of $15,105
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 497 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
51
in-school suspensions + 85 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,490 Top 98% in Kentucky — larger than 2% of 1,395 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 80.0
Students per teacher 18.3:1 +17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 26.3% -56% vs state
NCES ID 210051002206
Student demographics
White 82.2%
African American 5.9%
Hispanic or Latino 5.0%
Two or More 4.9%
Asian 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 82.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 16
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 497:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.7%
In-school suspensions 51
Out-of-school suspensions 85
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Boone County, which includes Randall K. Cooper High School.
$14,519
Per student
-4%
vs Kentucky
Avg $15,105
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 51.3%
State 38.1%
Federal 10.5%
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
- 2,077
- Students per teacher
- 18.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,400
- Students per teacher
- 17:1
- Enrollment
- 1,252
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,006
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Enrollment
- 957
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
Similar high schools in Union
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Randall K. Cooper High School
How many students attend Randall K. Cooper High School?
Randall K. Cooper High School has 1,490 students enrolled. It is a high school in Union, KY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Randall K. Cooper High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Randall K. Cooper High School is 18.3:1, which is 17% higher than the Kentucky average of 15.6:1 and 15% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Randall K. Cooper High School?
26.3% of students at Randall K. Cooper High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kentucky average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Randall K. Cooper High School?
The largest demographic group at Randall K. Cooper High School is White at 82.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Union, KY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Randall K. Cooper High School?
Randall K. Cooper High School has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (D) 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.