Enrollment
717
South Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 460005201235
Tea Area High School - 03 — Tea, SD
Federal NCES profile for Tea Area High School - 03, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 28
📚 AP courses 15
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 28
📋 Attendance 66
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: Tea Area School District 41-5 · South Dakota
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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.9:1
vs 13.5:1 South Dakota avg
+33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
5.1%
vs 28.8% South Dakota avg
-82% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Tea Area High School - 03 compares with South Dakota 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
Tea Area High School - 03 reports 717 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 33% above the South Dakota state mean of 13.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 13% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 5.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 82% below the South Dakota average and 90% below the national baseline. The school offers 3 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 359 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Tea Area School District 41-5 spends $11,158 per pupil district-wide, below the South Dakota average of $16,140 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.3% from local sources (property taxes), 50.0% from the state, and 10.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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 Tea Area High School - 03 compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against South Dakota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs South Dakota | South Dakota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.9:1 | ▲ 33% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 5.1% | ▼ 82% | 28.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 717 | top 96% | — | — |
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
5.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 82% below the South Dakota average of 28.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.9:1
students per teacher
— 33% above state mean
Top 89% in South Dakota — lower ratio than 11% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.8%
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
$11,158
per pupil, district-wide
— below South Dakota avg of $16,140
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 359 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
67
in-school suspensions + 13 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 9 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 717 Top 96% in South Dakota — larger than 4% of 698 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 17.9:1 +33% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 5.1% -82% vs state
NCES ID 460005201235
Student demographics
White 85.5%
Hispanic or Latino 5.0%
Two or More 3.9%
African American 3.5%
Asian 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 85.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 3
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 359:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.8%
In-school suspensions 67
Out-of-school suspensions 13
Expulsions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tea Area School District 41-5, which includes Tea Area High School - 03.
$11,158
Per student
-31%
vs South Dakota
Avg $16,140
-43%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.3%
State 50.0%
Federal 10.8%
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
- 583
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Enrollment
- 538
- Students per teacher
- 16.4:1
- Enrollment
- 379
- Students per teacher
- 15.6:1
- Enrollment
- 292
- Students per teacher
- 13.9:1
- Enrollment
- 73
- Students per teacher
- 73:1
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 Tea Area High School - 03
How many students attend Tea Area High School - 03?
Tea Area High School - 03 has 717 students enrolled. It is a high school in Tea, SD.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Tea Area High School - 03?
The student-teacher ratio at Tea Area High School - 03 is 17.9:1, which is 33% higher than the South Dakota average of 13.5:1 and 13% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Tea Area High School - 03?
5.1% of students at Tea Area High School - 03 are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Dakota average of 28.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tea Area High School - 03?
The largest demographic group at Tea Area High School - 03 is White at 85.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Tea, SD.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Tea Area High School - 03?
Tea Area High School - 03 has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (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.