Enrollment
1,997
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 290100000299
Rock Bridge Sr. High — Columbia, MO
Federal NCES profile for Rock Bridge Sr. High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 61/100.
👥 Class size 25
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 49
📋 Attendance 61
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: Columbia 93 · Missouri
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)
108.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18.8:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
+46% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.5%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-71% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rock Bridge Sr. High 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
Rock Bridge Sr. High reports 1,997 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 108.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 46% above the Missouri state mean of 12.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 18% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 13.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 71% below the Missouri average and 74% below the national baseline. The school offers 21 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 253 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Columbia 93 spends $15,957 per pupil district-wide, above the Missouri average of $15,248 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 64.5% from local sources (property taxes), 25.3% from the state, and 10.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 61/100 (C+), 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 Rock Bridge Sr. High 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 | 18.8:1 | ▲ 46% | 12.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.5% | ▼ 71% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,997 | top 99% | — | — |
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
13.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 71% 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
18.8:1
students per teacher
— 46% above state mean
Top 97% in Missouri — lower ratio than 3% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.8%
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
$15,957
per pupil, district-wide
— above Missouri avg of $15,248
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors7.9 FTE
Per 253 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
126
in-school suspensions + 60 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 1,997 Top 99% in Missouri — larger than 1% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 108.0
Students per teacher 18.8:1 +46% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 13.5% -71% vs state
NCES ID 290100000299
Student demographics
White 66.2%
African American 10.7%
Two or More 8.3%
Asian 7.9%
Hispanic or Latino 6.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 66.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 21
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 7.9
Students per counselor 253:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.8%
In-school suspensions 126
Out-of-school suspensions 60
Expulsions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Columbia 93, which includes Rock Bridge Sr. High.
$15,957
Per student
+5%
vs Missouri
Avg $15,248
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 64.5%
State 25.3%
Federal 10.2%
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
- 2,007
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,492
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 736
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 656
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 619
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
Similar high schools in Columbia
2 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 Rock Bridge Sr. High
How many students attend Rock Bridge Sr. High?
Rock Bridge Sr. High has 1,997 students enrolled. It is a high school in COLUMBIA, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rock Bridge Sr. High?
The student-teacher ratio at Rock Bridge Sr. High is 18.8:1, which is 46% higher than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 18% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Rock Bridge Sr. High?
13.5% of students at Rock Bridge Sr. High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rock Bridge Sr. High?
The largest demographic group at Rock Bridge Sr. High is White at 66.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in COLUMBIA, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rock Bridge Sr. High?
Rock Bridge Sr. High has a Resource Investment Index of 61/100 (C+) 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.