Enrollment
453
Kentucky · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 210186002341
Steam Academy — Lexington, KY
Federal NCES profile for Steam Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 27/100.
👥 Class size 16
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 9
📋 Attendance 70
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: Fayette County · Kentucky
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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.9:1
vs 15.6:1 Kentucky avg
+34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
30.4%
vs 59.2% Kentucky avg
-49% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Steam Academy compares with Kentucky 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
Steam Academy reports 453 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 34% above the Kentucky state mean of 15.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 31% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 30.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 49% below the Kentucky average and 41% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 453 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fayette County spends $17,525 per pupil district-wide, above the Kentucky average of $15,105 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 49.8% from local sources (property taxes), 35.5% from the state, and 14.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (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 Steam Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Kentucky state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Kentucky | Kentucky avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.9:1 | ▲ 34% | 15.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 30.4% | ▼ 49% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 453 | top 53% | — | — |
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
30.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 49% below the Kentucky average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
20.9:1
students per teacher
— 34% above state mean
Top 95% in Kentucky — lower ratio than 5% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
11.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$17,525
per pupil, district-wide
— above Kentucky avg of $15,105
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 453 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 453 Top 53% in Kentucky — larger than 47% of 1,395 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 20.9:1 +34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 30.4% -49% vs state
NCES ID 210186002341
Student demographics
White 54.5%
African American 26.3%
Hispanic or Latino 13.0%
Two or More 4.0%
Asian 2.2%
Largest group: White at 54.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 453:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.9%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 14
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fayette County, which includes Steam Academy.
$17,525
Per student
+16%
vs Kentucky
Avg $15,105
-10%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 49.8%
State 35.5%
Federal 14.7%
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
- 2,370
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,030
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,939
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,828
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 1,770
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
Similar high schools in Lexington
6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Lafayette High School
Standard public school
2,370 students 18.9:1 students per teacher
Bryan Station High School
Standard public school
2,030 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
Henry Clay High School
Standard public school
1,939 students 16.9:1 students per teacher
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Standard public school
1,828 students 18.2:1 students per teacher
Frederick Douglass High School
Standard public school
1,770 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
Tates Creek High School
Standard public school
1,723 students 17.2:1 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 Steam Academy
How many students attend Steam Academy?
Steam Academy has 453 students enrolled. It is a high school in Lexington, KY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Steam Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Steam Academy is 20.9:1, which is 34% higher than the Kentucky average of 15.6:1 and 31% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Steam Academy?
30.4% of students at Steam Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Kentucky average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Steam Academy?
The largest demographic group at Steam Academy is White at 54.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Lexington, KY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Steam Academy?
Steam Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 27/100 (F) 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.