Enrollment
1,120
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 051185000941
Sylvan Hills High School — Sherwood, AR
Federal NCES profile for Sylvan Hills High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 55/100.
👥 Class size 42
📚 AP courses 65
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 25
📋 Attendance 73
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: Pulaski Co. Spec. School Dist. · Arkansas
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)
70.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.5:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.8%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sylvan Hills High School compares with Arkansas 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
Sylvan Hills High School reports 1,120 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 70.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% above the Arkansas state mean of 13.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 51% below the Arkansas average and 44% below the national baseline. The school offers 13 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 373 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Pulaski Co. Spec. School Dist. spends $16,702 per pupil district-wide, above the Arkansas average of $14,269 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 63.0% from local sources (property taxes), 16.6% from the state, and 20.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C), 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 Sylvan Hills High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arkansas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.5:1 | ▲ 7% | 13.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.8% | ▼ 51% | 59.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,120 | top 97% | — | — |
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
28.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 51% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.5:1
students per teacher
— 7% above state mean
Top 54% in Arkansas — lower ratio than 46% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
11.0%
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
$16,702
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arkansas avg of $14,269
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 373 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
165
in-school suspensions + 134 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 14.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 26.7 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,120 Top 97% in Arkansas — larger than 3% of 1,069 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 70.0
Students per teacher 14.5:1 +7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.8% -51% vs state
NCES ID 051185000941
Student demographics
African American 46.9%
White 36.6%
Hispanic or Latino 9.6%
Two or More 5.8%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: African American at 46.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 13
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 373:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.0%
In-school suspensions 165
Out-of-school suspensions 134
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pulaski Co. Spec. School Dist., which includes Sylvan Hills High School.
$16,702
Per student
+17%
vs Arkansas
Avg $14,269
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 63.0%
State 16.6%
Federal 20.4%
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
- 1,030
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Enrollment
- 869
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 772
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 721
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Enrollment
- 612
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
Similar high schools in Sherwood
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) 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 Sylvan Hills High School
How many students attend Sylvan Hills High School?
Sylvan Hills High School has 1,120 students enrolled. It is a high school in SHERWOOD, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sylvan Hills High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sylvan Hills High School is 14.5:1, which is 7% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 9% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sylvan Hills High School?
28.8% of students at Sylvan Hills High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sylvan Hills High School?
The largest demographic group at Sylvan Hills High School is African American at 46.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in SHERWOOD, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sylvan Hills High School?
Sylvan Hills High School has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C) 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.