Enrollment
356
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 192598001474
Sheldon High School — Sheldon, IA
Federal NCES profile for Sheldon High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 45
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 64
📋 Attendance 36
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: Sheldon Comm School District · Iowa
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)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.7:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
33.0%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-9% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sheldon High School compares with Iowa 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
Sheldon High School reports 356 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 25.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% below the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 33.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 9% below the Iowa average and 36% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 180 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sheldon Comm School District spends $13,751 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 37.8% from local sources (property taxes), 49.7% from the state, and 12.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Sheldon High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.7:1 | ▼ 9% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 33.0% | ▼ 9% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 356 | top 60% | — | — |
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
33.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 9% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.7:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 41% in Iowa — lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
25.8%
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
$13,751
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 180 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
48
in-school suspensions + 22 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 13.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 19.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 356 Top 60% in Iowa — larger than 40% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 25.0
Students per teacher 13.7:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 33.0% -9% vs state
NCES ID 192598001474
Student demographics
White 65.4%
Hispanic or Latino 29.5%
Two or More 2.0%
African American 1.1%
Asian 1.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.8%
Largest group: White at 65.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 180:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.8%
In-school suspensions 48
Out-of-school suspensions 22
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sheldon Comm School District, which includes Sheldon High School.
$13,751
Per student
-20%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 37.8%
State 49.7%
Federal 12.4%
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
- 468
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Enrollment
- 312
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Enrollment
- 43
- Students per teacher
- —
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 Sheldon High School
How many students attend Sheldon High School?
Sheldon High School has 356 students enrolled. It is a high school in Sheldon, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sheldon High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sheldon High School is 13.7:1, which is 9% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 14% 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 Sheldon High School?
33.0% of students at Sheldon High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sheldon High School?
The largest demographic group at Sheldon High School is White at 65.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in Sheldon, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sheldon High School?
Sheldon High School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) based on 5 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.