Enrollment
1,376
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 280018901451
Starkville High School — Starkville, MS
Federal NCES profile for Starkville High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
👥 Class size 39
📚 AP courses 30
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 31
📋 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: Starkville- Oktibbeha Cons 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)
71.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.2:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.3%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-19% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Starkville 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
Starkville High School reports 1,376 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 71.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% above the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 65.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 19% below the Mississippi average and 26% above the national baseline. The school offers 6 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 344 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 31.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Starkville- Oktibbeha Cons Dist spends $13,772 per pupil district-wide, above the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 43.0% from local sources (property taxes), 35.9% from the state, and 21.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F), 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 Starkville 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 | 15.2:1 | ▲ 13% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.3% | ▼ 19% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,376 | top 98% | — | — |
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
65.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 19% 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
15.2:1
students per teacher
— 13% above state mean
Top 81% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
31.6%
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
$13,772
per pupil, district-wide
— above Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 344 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 37 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,376 Top 98% in Mississippi — larger than 2% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 71.0
Students per teacher 15.2:1 +13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 65.3% -19% vs state
NCES ID 280018901451
Student demographics
African American 66.2%
White 27.4%
Asian 3.1%
Hispanic or Latino 2.5%
Two or More 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 66.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 6
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 344:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 31.6%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 37
Expulsions 5
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Starkville- Oktibbeha Cons Dist, which includes Starkville High School.
$13,772
Per student
+3%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 43.0%
State 35.9%
Federal 21.1%
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
- 1,066
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Enrollment
- 920
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Enrollment
- 646
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Enrollment
- 358
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Enrollment
- 324
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
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 Starkville High School
How many students attend Starkville High School?
Starkville High School has 1,376 students enrolled. It is a high school in STARKVILLE, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Starkville High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Starkville High School is 15.2:1, which is 13% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Starkville High School?
65.3% of students at Starkville High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Starkville High School?
The largest demographic group at Starkville High School is African American at 66.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in STARKVILLE, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Starkville High School?
Starkville High School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) 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.