Enrollment
892
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 192868001660
Urbandale Middle School — Urbandale, IA
Federal NCES profile for Urbandale Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 38
📋 Attendance 37
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: Urbandale Comm School District · Iowa
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)
56.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
+7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.8%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Urbandale Middle School compares with Iowa 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
Urbandale Middle School reports 892 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 56.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% above the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 4% below the Iowa average and 33% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 308 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Urbandale Comm School District spends $18,269 per pupil district-wide, above the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.0% from local sources (property taxes), 37.5% from the state, and 8.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D), 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 Urbandale Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Iowa state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Iowa | Iowa avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16:1 | ▲ 7% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.8% | ▼ 4% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 892 | top 95% | — | — |
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
34.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 4% below the Iowa average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16:1
students per teacher
— 7% above state mean
Top 76% in Iowa — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
25.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$18,269
per pupil, district-wide
— above Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.9 FTE
Per 308 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
49
in-school suspensions + 79 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 892 Top 95% in Iowa — larger than 5% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 56.0
Students per teacher 16:1 +7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.8% -4% vs state
NCES ID 192868001660
Student demographics
White 63.3%
Hispanic or Latino 15.2%
African American 8.6%
Asian 7.0%
Two or More 5.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 63.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.9
Students per counselor 308:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.1%
In-school suspensions 49
Out-of-school suspensions 79
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Urbandale Comm School District, which includes Urbandale Middle School.
$18,269
Per student
+6%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-6%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.0%
State 37.5%
Federal 8.5%
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
- 1,301
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 622
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Enrollment
- 519
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 296
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 277
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
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 Urbandale Middle School
How many students attend Urbandale Middle School?
Urbandale Middle School has 892 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Urbandale, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Urbandale Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Urbandale Middle School is 16:1, which is 7% higher than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Urbandale Middle School?
34.8% of students at Urbandale Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Urbandale Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Urbandale Middle School is White at 63.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in Urbandale, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Urbandale Middle School?
Urbandale Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (D) 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.