Enrollment
936
Wisconsin · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Salem, WI
Salem Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Salem Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 34/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 551335001753
👥 S:T ratio 44
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 6
📋 Attendance 57
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Salem Elementary earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Wisconsin median.
- 34
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14:1
- students per teacher
- 28.1%
- free-lunch eligible
- 936
- students enrolled
Salem Elementary has class sizes near the Wisconsin median. Computed live against every Wisconsin school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Salem School District · Wisconsin
NCES ID 551335001753 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
67.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14:1
vs 14.4:1 Wisconsin avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.1%
vs 38.5% Wisconsin avg
-27% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Salem Elementary compares with Wisconsin and U.S. medians
What stands out at Salem Elementary
Salem Elementary is a large combined-grade school in Salem, Wisconsin, enrolling 936 students.
At 14:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Wisconsin median, within a few percentage points of the 14.4:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 28.1% of students eligible for free meals.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Wisconsin, bigger than 94% of state schools at 936 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,202 scored Wisconsin schools.
Among 180 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Wisconsin schools statewide, it ranks #153, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly White (84% of enrollment) (diversity index 29/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 468 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
17.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Salem School District operates only this one school, so Salem Elementary has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Salem Elementary compares
Salem Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Wisconsin and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Wisconsin | Wisconsin avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14:1 | ▼ 3% | 14.4:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.1% | ▼ 27% | 38.5% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 936 | top 6% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14:1
Leaner classes than 57% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
936
Bigger than 90% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
28.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 27% below the Wisconsin average of 38.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14:1
students per teacher
- 3% below state mean
Top 60% in Wisconsin - lower ratio than 40% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
17.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$13,399
per pupil, district-wide
- below Wisconsin avg of $14,919
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 468 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
73
in-school suspensions + 29 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 10.9 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
White 83.8%
Hispanic or Latino 9.9%
Two or More 4.2%
African American 1.8%
Asian 0.3%
Largest group: White at 83.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 28.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 28.6, Salem Elementary is less mixed than the Wisconsin school average of 35.7.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Salem School District, which includes Salem Elementary.
$13,399
Per student
-10%
vs Wisconsin
Avg $14,919
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 44.9%
State 46.0%
Federal 9.2%
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.
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Wisconsin, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~936 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Salem Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Salem Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Salem School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Salem Elementary
How many students attend Salem Elementary?
Salem Elementary has 936 students enrolled. It is a public school in Salem, WI.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Salem Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Salem Elementary is 14:1, which is 3% lower than the Wisconsin average of 14.4:1 and 11% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Salem Elementary?
28.1% of students at Salem Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Wisconsin average of 38.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Salem Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Salem Elementary is White at 83.8% of enrollment, in Salem, WI.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Salem Elementary?
Salem Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 34/100 (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).
Is Salem Elementary a good school?
Salem Elementary earns 34/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Wisconsin median. 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 Salem School District?
None reported; Salem School District operates only Salem Elementary as a public school district in NCES's records.
Related tools
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.