Enrollment
305
New Mexico · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 350165001122
Topper Freshman Academy — Los Alamos, NM
Federal NCES profile for Topper Freshman Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 28
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 60
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: Los Alamos Public Schools · New Mexico
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)
17.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.9:1
vs 14.4:1 New Mexico avg
+24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
12.8%
vs 80.8% New Mexico avg
-84% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Topper Freshman Academy compares with New Mexico 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
Topper Freshman Academy reports 305 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 17.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 24% above the New Mexico state mean of 14.4:1, 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: 12.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 84% below the New Mexico average and 75% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 305 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Los Alamos Public Schools spends $14,273 per pupil district-wide, below the New Mexico average of $19,045 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 20.6% from local sources (property taxes), 61.1% from the state, and 18.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), 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 Topper Freshman Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New Mexico state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New Mexico | New Mexico avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.9:1 | ▲ 24% | 14.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 12.8% | ▼ 84% | 80.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 305 | top 54% | — | — |
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
12.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 84% below the New Mexico average of 80.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.9:1
students per teacher
— 24% above state mean
Top 87% in New Mexico — lower ratio than 13% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
16.1%
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
$14,273
per pupil, district-wide
— below New Mexico avg of $19,045
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 305 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 305 Top 54% in New Mexico — larger than 46% of 873 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 17.0
Students per teacher 17.9:1 +24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 12.8% -84% vs state
NCES ID 350165001122
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 305:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.1%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Los Alamos Public Schools, which includes Topper Freshman Academy.
$14,273
Per student
-25%
vs New Mexico
Avg $19,045
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 20.6%
State 61.1%
Federal 18.3%
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
- 1,181
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Enrollment
- 543
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 435
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Enrollment
- 429
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 428
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
Similar high schools in Los Alamos
1 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 Topper Freshman Academy
How many students attend Topper Freshman Academy?
Topper Freshman Academy has 305 students enrolled. It is a high school in LOS ALAMOS, NM.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Topper Freshman Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Topper Freshman Academy is 17.9:1, which is 24% higher than the New Mexico average of 14.4:1 and 13% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Topper Freshman Academy?
12.8% of students at Topper Freshman Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Mexico average of 80.8%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Topper Freshman Academy?
Topper Freshman Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) 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.