Middle school (grades 6-8) · Memphis, TN

Ridgeway Middle

Federal NCES profile for Ridgeway Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 470014801625
0/100100/10042/100
👥 S:T ratio
27
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
40
📋 Attendance
31
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Ridgeway Middle earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Tennessee schools.

#16 of 35
middle schools in Memphis · Resource Index
42
Resource Index · Typical
18.2:1
large classes for Tennessee
599
students enrolled

Ridgeway Middle has class sizes larger than 86% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Ridgeway Middle ranks #16 of 35 middle schools in Memphis, TN.

Enrollment

599

Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

33.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

18.2:1

vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg

+19% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Ridgeway Middle compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Ridgeway Middle

Ridgeway Middle is a mid-sized middle school in Memphis, Tennessee, enrolling 599 students.

Class loads run heavy: 18.2:1 is larger than about 86% of Tennessee schools and 19% above the 15.3:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Enrollment of 599 puts it in the larger third of Tennessee schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.

Its student body is predominantly African American (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 33/100).

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 300 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Memphis-Shelby County Schools spends $13,650 per pupil, 26% above the Tennessee average, a better-resourced district than most.

Its district draws 28.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Among Memphis's middle schools, it stands alongside White Station Middle (1,127 students): Ridgeway Middle is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (18.2:1 vs 16.1:1).

Memphis-Shelby County Schools also operates Cordova High School (2,251 students) and White Station High (2,046 students) alongside Ridgeway Middle.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Ridgeway Middle compares

Ridgeway Middle on the metrics families compare, against Tennessee and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Tennessee Tennessee avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 18.2:1 ▲ 19% 15.3:1 15.7:1
Enrollment 599 top 32% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

18.2:1
Leaner classes than 23% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
599
Bigger than 72% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Staffing depth
18.2:1
students per teacher - 19% above state mean
Top 86% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
27.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,650
per pupil, district-wide - above Tennessee avg of $10,822
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 300 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

African American 80.8%
Hispanic or Latino 13.5%
Two or More 4.0%
White 1.7%

Largest group: African American at 80.8% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 32.7/100

Simpson diversity index - at 32.7, Ridgeway Middle is less mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, which includes Ridgeway Middle.

$13,650
Per student
+26%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.5%
State 37.0%
Federal 28.5%

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.

How Ridgeway Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Cordova High School Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
White Station High Larger No free-lunch data Similar S:T ratio
Germantown High Larger No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio
Southwind High Larger No free-lunch data Higher S:T ratio
Whitehaven High Larger No free-lunch data Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Ridgeway Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Memphis-Shelby County Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools in Memphis

6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.

Similar middle schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Tennessee, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Ridgeway Middle's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Ridgeway Middle

How many students attend Ridgeway Middle?

Ridgeway Middle has 599 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Memphis, TN.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Ridgeway Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Ridgeway Middle is 18.2:1, which is 19% higher than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 16% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ridgeway Middle?

The largest demographic group at Ridgeway Middle is African American at 80.8% of enrollment, in Memphis, TN.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Ridgeway Middle?

Ridgeway Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Ridgeway Middle rank among middle schools in Memphis?

By Resource Investment Index, Ridgeway Middle ranks #16 of 35 middle schools in Memphis, TN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Memphis on the city page.

Is Ridgeway Middle a good school?

Ridgeway Middle earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Tennessee schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Memphis-Shelby County Schools?

Besides Ridgeway Middle, Memphis-Shelby County Schools also operates Cordova High School (2,251 students), White Station High (2,046 students), and Germantown High (1,719 students). See the Memphis-Shelby County Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.