Enrollment
1,239
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Vienna, VA
Thoreau Middle
Federal NCES profile for Thoreau Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 60/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 510126000574
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 Attendance 74
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 →
The verdict
Thoreau Middle earns a C+ Resource Investment Index (60/100), with class sizes larger than 74% of Virginia schools.
- C+
- Resource Index · 60/100
- 15.3:1
- large classes for Virginia
- 16.2%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,239
- students enrolled
Thoreau Middle has class sizes larger than 74% of Virginia schools. Computed live against every Virginia school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Fairfax County Public Schools · Virginia
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)
78.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
+9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.2%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-73% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Thoreau Middle compares with Virginia 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
Thoreau Middle reports 1,239 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 78.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% above the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 16.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 73% below the Virginia average and 69% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 207 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 10.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fairfax County Public Schools spends $17,977 per pupil district-wide, above the Virginia average of $14,649 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 66.6% from local sources (property taxes), 23.3% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+), calculated from 4 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 Thoreau Middle compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▲ 9% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.2% | ▼ 73% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,239 | top 90% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
15 smaller classes than 46% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
1,239 larger than 94% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
16.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 73% below the Virginia average of 59.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
— 9% above state mean
Top 74% in Virginia — lower ratio than 26% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
10.3%
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
$17,977
per pupil, district-wide
— above Virginia avg of $14,649
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 207 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
38
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,239 Top 90% in Virginia — larger than 10% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 78.0
Students per teacher 15.3:1 +9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 16.2% -73% vs state
NCES ID 510126000574
Student demographics
White 49.6%
Hispanic or Latino 18.7%
Asian 18.6%
Two or More 7.2%
African American 5.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 49.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 207:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 10.3%
In-school suspensions 38
Out-of-school suspensions 11
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairfax County Public Schools, which includes Thoreau Middle.
$17,977
Per student
+23%
vs Virginia
Avg $14,649
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 66.6%
State 23.3%
Federal 10.1%
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
- 4,411
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,710
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 3,256
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,937
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,799
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
Similar middle schools in Vienna
1 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) 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.
Before you act on this record
Treat this page as the federal baseline — then verify locally.
- Compare Thoreau Middle side-by-side with another school you're considering on the same NCES measures. Compare schools
- Read the district context — spending per pupil, staffing, and equity ranking are district-level decisions that shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment windows, programs, and boundaries with the school directly — federal data lags the current school year. Choosing guide
Figures are the school's reported federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) — coverage varies by entity type, and PlainSchools does not rate or rank schools.
Frequently asked questions about Thoreau Middle
How many students attend Thoreau Middle?
Thoreau Middle has 1,239 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Vienna, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thoreau Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Thoreau Middle is 15.3:1, which is 9% higher than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Thoreau Middle?
16.2% of students at Thoreau Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Thoreau Middle?
The largest demographic group at Thoreau Middle is White at 49.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Vienna, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Thoreau Middle?
Thoreau Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 60/100 (C+) based on 4 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.
Is Thoreau Middle a good school?
Thoreau Middle earns a C+ Resource Investment Index (60/100), with class sizes larger than 74% of Virginia schools. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.