Enrollment
478
Georgia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 130183002546
Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet — Albany, GA
Federal NCES profile for Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 44
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 4
📋 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: Dougherty County · Georgia
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)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.9:1
vs 14.5:1 Georgia avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 60.7% Georgia avg
+65% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet compares with Georgia 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
Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet reports 478 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 38.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% below the Georgia state mean of 14.5:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 13% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 100.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 65% above the Georgia average and 93% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 478 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Dougherty County spends $16,606 per pupil district-wide, above the Georgia average of $15,679 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 29.8% from local sources (property taxes), 42.8% from the state, and 27.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D), 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 Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Georgia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Georgia | Georgia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.9:1 | ▼ 4% | 14.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 65% | 60.7% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 478 | top 29% | — | — |
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
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 65% above the Georgia average of 60.7%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.9:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 43% in Georgia — lower ratio than 57% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
20.3%
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
$16,606
per pupil, district-wide
— above Georgia avg of $15,679
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 478 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 478 Top 29% in Georgia — larger than 71% of 2,315 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 38.0
Students per teacher 13.9:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% +65% vs state
NCES ID 130183002546
Student demographics
African American 86.4%
Hispanic or Latino 5.6%
Two or More 2.9%
White 2.7%
Asian 2.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 86.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 478:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.3%
In-school suspensions 2
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dougherty County, which includes Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet.
$16,606
Per student
+6%
vs Georgia
Avg $15,679
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 29.8%
State 42.8%
Federal 27.4%
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
- 1,234
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,191
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 1,189
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 833
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Enrollment
- 807
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
Similar middle schools in Albany
3 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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 Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet
How many students attend Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet?
Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet has 478 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Albany, GA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet?
The student-teacher ratio at Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet is 13.9:1, which is 4% lower than the Georgia average of 14.5:1 and 13% 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 Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet?
100.0% of students at Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Georgia average of 60.7%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet?
The largest demographic group at Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet is African American at 86.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Albany, GA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet?
Robert a. Cross Middle Magnet has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D) 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.