High school (grades 9-12) · Virginia Beach, VA

Tallwood High

Federal NCES profile for Tallwood High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 59/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 510384000434
0/100100/10059/100
👥 S:T ratio
36
📚 AP courses
100
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
46
📋 Attendance
40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Tallwood High earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 81% of Virginia schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Virginia.

#6 of 12
high schools in Virginia Beach · Resource Index
59
Resource Index · Higher
15.9:1
large classes for Virginia
38.2%
free-lunch eligible

Tallwood High has class sizes larger than 81% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Tallwood High ranks #6 of 12 high schools in Virginia Beach, VA.

Enrollment

1,890

Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

119.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

15.9:1

vs 13.9:1 Virginia avg

+14% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

38.2%

vs 57.6% Virginia avg

-34% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Tallwood High compares with Virginia and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Tallwood High

Tallwood High is a large high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia, enrolling 1,890 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.9:1 puts it in the larger third of Virginia schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 38.2% of students eligible for free meals.

By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Virginia, bigger than 96% of state schools at 1,890 students.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,868 scored Virginia schools.

Against 81 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #39.

Its student body is led by White (35%) and African American (33%) (diversity index 74/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 21 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 270 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Among Virginia Beach's high schools, it stands alongside Landstown High (2,152 students): Tallwood High is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (15.9:1 vs 16.6:1).

Virginia Beach City Public Schools also operates Landstown High (2,152 students) and Kempsville High (2,046 students) alongside Tallwood High.

Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25

How Tallwood High compares

Tallwood High on the metrics families compare, against Virginia and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Virginia Virginia avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 15.9:1 ▲ 14% 13.9:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 38.2% ▼ 34% 57.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 1,890 top 4% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

15.9:1
Leaner classes than 39% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
1,890
Bigger than 98% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
38.2%
free-lunch eligible - 34% below the Virginia average of 57.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.9:1
students per teacher - 14% above state mean
Top 81% in Virginia - lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
23.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,118
per pupil, district-wide - below Virginia avg of $14,649
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 270 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
46
in-school suspensions + 107 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.

Overview

  • Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
  • Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
  • F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.

Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.

Student demographics

White 35.1%
African American 32.6%
Hispanic or Latino 12.4%
Two or More 11.0%
Asian 8.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%

Largest group: White at 35.1% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 73.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 73.6, Tallwood High is more mixed than the Virginia school average of 53.7.

Programs

AP courses offered 21
Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, which includes Tallwood High.

$14,118
Per student
-4%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
-15%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 46.6%
State 39.7%
Federal 13.7%

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.

How Tallwood High Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Landstown High Similar size Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Kempsville High Similar size Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Bayside High Similar size Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Floyd Kellam High Similar size Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Ocean Lakes High Similar size Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Tallwood High's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Virginia Beach City Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Virginia Beach

6 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Virginia, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Tallwood High's federal record.

Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.

Frequently asked questions about Tallwood High

How many students attend Tallwood High?

Tallwood High has 1,890 students enrolled. It is a high school in Virginia Beach, VA.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Tallwood High?

The student-teacher ratio at Tallwood High is 15.9:1, which is 14% higher than the Virginia average of 13.9:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Tallwood High?

38.2% of students at Tallwood High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 57.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tallwood High?

The largest demographic group at Tallwood High is White at 35.1% of enrollment, in Virginia Beach, VA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 73.6/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Tallwood High?

Tallwood High has a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Tallwood High rank among high schools in Virginia Beach?

By Resource Investment Index, Tallwood High ranks #6 of 12 high schools in Virginia Beach, VA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Virginia Beach on the city page.

Is Tallwood High a good school?

Tallwood High earns 59/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 81% of Virginia schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Virginia. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.

What other schools are in Virginia Beach City Public Schools?

Besides Tallwood High, Virginia Beach City Public Schools also operates Landstown High (2,152 students), Kempsville High (2,046 students), and Bayside High (1,984 students). See the Virginia Beach City Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.