Enrollment
284
Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Elizabethton, TN
Unaka High School
Federal NCES profile for Unaka High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 28/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 470051000167
👥 S:T ratio 56
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Unaka High School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 90% of Tennessee schools.
- #3 of 3
- high schools in Elizabethton · Resource Index
- 28
- Resource Index · Lower
- 10.9:1
- small classes for Tennessee
- 284
- students enrolled
Unaka High School has class sizes smaller than 90% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Unaka High School ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Elizabethton, TN.
School address
District: Carter County · Tennessee
NCES ID 470051000167 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.9:1
vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg
-29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Unaka High School compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians
What stands out at Unaka High School
Unaka High School is a mid-sized high school in Elizabethton, Tennessee, enrolling 284 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.9:1, Unaka High School is leaner than roughly 90% of Tennessee schools and 29% under the state's 15.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Enrollment of 284 puts it in the smaller third of Tennessee schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (91% of enrollment) (diversity index 17/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 2 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 284 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 45.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 22.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 24 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Among Elizabethton's high schools, it stands alongside Elizabethton High School (886 students): Unaka High School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (10.9:1 vs 13.8:1).
Carter County also operates Hampton Elementary (662 students) and Happy Valley Elementary (506 students) alongside Unaka High School.
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 Unaka High School compares
Unaka High School on the metrics families compare, against Tennessee and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Tennessee | Tennessee avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.9:1 | ▼ 29% | 15.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 284 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.9:1
Leaner classes than 84% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
284
Bigger than 30% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
10.9:1
students per teacher
- 29% below state mean
Top 10% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 90% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
45.1%
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
$11,253
per pupil, district-wide
- above Tennessee avg of $10,822
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 284 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
16
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 24 expulsions.
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 90.8%
Hispanic or Latino 7.4%
Two or More 1.4%
African American 0.4%
Largest group: White at 90.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 17.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 17.0, Unaka High School is less mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Carter County, which includes Unaka High School.
$11,253
Per student
+4%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.3%
State 54.9%
Federal 22.9%
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 Unaka High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampton Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Happy Valley Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hunter Elementary | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Happy Valley High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hampton High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Unaka High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 662
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 506
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 498
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 449
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 368
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
Similar high schools in Elizabethton
2 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 Tennessee, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~284 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Unaka High School's federal record.
- Compare Unaka High School against another school. Compare schools
- Carter County's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Unaka High School
How many students attend Unaka High School?
Unaka High School has 284 students enrolled. It is a high school in Elizabethton, TN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Unaka High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Unaka High School is 10.9:1, which is 29% lower than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 31% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Unaka High School?
The largest demographic group at Unaka High School is White at 90.8% of enrollment, in Elizabethton, TN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Unaka High School?
Unaka High School has a Resource Investment Index of 28/100 (lower 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 Unaka High School rank among high schools in Elizabethton?
By Resource Investment Index, Unaka High School ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Elizabethton, TN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Elizabethton on the city page.
Is Unaka High School a good school?
Unaka High School earns 28/100 on the Resource Investment Index, even as it posts class sizes smaller than 90% of Tennessee schools. 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 Carter County?
Besides Unaka High School, Carter County also operates Hampton Elementary (662 students), Happy Valley Elementary (506 students), and Hunter Elementary (498 students). See the Carter County district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.