Enrollment
187
Missouri · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 292874001430
Sparta Middle — Sparta, MO
Federal NCES profile for Sparta Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 43
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 63
📋 Attendance 33
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: Sparta R-Iii · 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)
14.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.3:1
vs 12.9:1 Missouri avg
+11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
30.5%
vs 46.1% Missouri avg
-34% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sparta Middle 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
Sparta Middle reports 187 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 14.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 11% 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 10% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 30.5% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 34% below the Missouri average and 41% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 187 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 26.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sparta R-Iii spends $10,639 per pupil district-wide, below the Missouri average of $15,248 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 37.2% from local sources (property taxes), 43.6% from the state, and 19.2% 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 Sparta Middle 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 | 14.3:1 | ▲ 11% | 12.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 30.5% | ▼ 34% | 46.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 187 | top 28% | — | — |
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
30.5%
free-lunch eligible
— 34% 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
14.3:1
students per teacher
— 11% above state mean
Top 72% in Missouri — lower ratio than 28% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
26.7%
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
$10,639
per pupil, district-wide
— below Missouri avg of $15,248
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 187 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
32
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 17.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 18.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 187 Top 28% in Missouri — larger than 72% of 2,321 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 14.0
Students per teacher 14.3:1 +11% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 30.5% -34% vs state
NCES ID 292874001430
Student demographics
White 95.2%
Two or More 2.1%
Hispanic or Latino 1.1%
Asian 1.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 95.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 187:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 26.7%
In-school suspensions 32
Out-of-school suspensions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sparta R-Iii, which includes Sparta Middle.
$10,639
Per student
-30%
vs Missouri
Avg $15,248
-45%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 37.2%
State 43.6%
Federal 19.2%
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
- 263
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Enrollment
- 227
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 57
- Students per teacher
- 22:1
Similar elementary schools in Sparta
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Sparta Middle
How many students attend Sparta Middle?
Sparta Middle has 187 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in SPARTA, MO.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sparta Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Sparta Middle is 14.3:1, which is 11% higher than the Missouri average of 12.9:1 and 10% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sparta Middle?
30.5% of students at Sparta Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Missouri average of 46.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sparta Middle?
The largest demographic group at Sparta Middle is White at 95.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in SPARTA, MO.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sparta Middle?
Sparta Middle 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.