Enrollment
2,123
Mississippi · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 280432000819
Tupelo High School — Tupelo, MS
Federal NCES profile for Tupelo High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 52/100.
👥 Class size 39
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 39
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: Tupelo Public School Dist · Mississippi
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)
131.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 13.4:1 Mississippi avg
+14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
56.7%
vs 80.5% Mississippi avg
-30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Tupelo High School compares with Mississippi 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
Tupelo High School reports 2,123 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 131.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 14% above the Mississippi state mean of 13.4:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 56.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% below the Mississippi average and 9% above the national baseline. The school offers 22 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 303 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1.
On the finance side, the surrounding Tupelo Public School Dist spends $13,039 per pupil district-wide, below the Mississippi average of $13,402 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 42.5% from local sources (property taxes), 38.9% from the state, and 18.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (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 Tupelo High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Mississippi state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Mississippi | Mississippi avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▲ 14% | 13.4:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 56.7% | ▼ 30% | 80.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,123 | top 100% | — | — |
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
56.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% below the Mississippi average of 80.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
— 14% above state mean
Top 82% in Mississippi — lower ratio than 18% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Funding equity
$13,039
per pupil, district-wide
— below Mississippi avg of $13,402
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 303 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
314
in-school suspensions + 260 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 14.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 27.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 7 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 2,123 Top 100% in Mississippi — larger than 0% of 877 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 131.0
Students per teacher 15.3:1 +14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 56.7% -30% vs state
NCES ID 280432000819
Student demographics
African American 50.6%
White 32.8%
Hispanic or Latino 11.4%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 50.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 22
Counselors (FTE) 7.0
Students per counselor 303:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 314
Out-of-school suspensions 260
Expulsions 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tupelo Public School Dist, which includes Tupelo High School.
$13,039
Per student
-3%
vs Mississippi
Avg $13,402
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 42.5%
State 38.9%
Federal 18.6%
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
- 1,070
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 575
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 456
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 444
- Students per teacher
- 9.7:1
- Enrollment
- 418
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
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 Tupelo High School
How many students attend Tupelo High School?
Tupelo High School has 2,123 students enrolled. It is a high school in Tupelo, MS.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Tupelo High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Tupelo High School is 15.3:1, which is 14% higher than the Mississippi average of 13.4:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Tupelo High School?
56.7% of students at Tupelo High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Mississippi average of 80.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tupelo High School?
The largest demographic group at Tupelo High School is African American at 50.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Tupelo, MS.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Tupelo High School?
Tupelo High School has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.