Enrollment
540
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 280294000582
Smithville High School — Smithville, MS
Federal NCES profile for Smithville High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 35/100.
👥 Class size 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 21
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: Monroe Co School Dist · Mississippi
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)
42.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
-4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.6%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-45% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Smithville High School compares with Mississippi 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
Smithville High School reports 540 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 42.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 4% below the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 19% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 44.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 45% below the Mississippi average and 14% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 540 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Monroe Co School Dist spends $10,157 per pupil district-wide, below the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 26.3% from local sources (property taxes), 55.8% from the state, and 18.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (F), 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 Smithville High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Mississippi state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.9:1 | ▼ 4% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.6% | ▼ 45% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 540 | top 69% | — | — |
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
44.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 45% below the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
— 4% below state mean
Top 42% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 58% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
31.5%
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
$10,157
per pupil, district-wide
— below Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 540 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
34
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 540 Top 69% in Mississippi — larger than 31% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 42.0
Students per teacher 12.9:1 -4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 44.6% -45% vs state
NCES ID 280294000582
Student demographics
White 92.4%
Two or More 6.1%
African American 1.1%
Hispanic or Latino 0.2%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: White at 92.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 3
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 540:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.5%
In-school suspensions 34
Out-of-school suspensions 13
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Monroe Co School Dist, which includes Smithville High School.
$10,157
Per student
-24%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-48%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 26.3%
State 55.8%
Federal 18.0%
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
- 905
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Enrollment
- 557
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
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 Smithville High School
How many students attend Smithville High School?
Smithville High School has 540 students enrolled. It is a other school in SMITHVILLE, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Smithville High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Smithville High School is 12.9:1, which is 4% lower than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 19% 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 Smithville High School?
44.6% of students at Smithville High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Smithville High School?
The largest demographic group at Smithville High School is White at 92.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in SMITHVILLE, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Smithville High School?
Smithville High School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (F) based on 4 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.