Enrollment
384
Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Spencer, TN
Van Buren Co High School
Federal NCES profile for Van Buren Co High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 470432001738
👥 S:T ratio 49
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 19
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Van Buren Co High School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of Tennessee schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Tennessee schools.
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.8:1
- small classes for Tennessee
- 384
- students enrolled
Van Buren Co High School has class sizes smaller than 77% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Van Buren County · Tennessee
NCES ID 470432001738 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.8:1
vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Van Buren Co High School compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians
What stands out at Van Buren Co High School
Van Buren Co High School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Spencer, Tennessee, enrolling 384 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.8:1 puts it in the smaller third of Tennessee schools by student-teacher ratio.
With 384 students, its enrollment sits close to the Tennessee median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 4/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 384 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 22.4% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Spencer's public schools, it stands alongside Spencer Elementary (372 students): Van Buren Co High School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.8:1 vs 13.8:1).
Its district, Van Buren County, also runs Spencer Elementary (372 students).
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 Van Buren Co High School compares
Van Buren Co 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 | 12.8:1 | ▼ 16% | 15.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 384 | top 63% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
384
Bigger than 45% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 23% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 77% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
32.3%
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
$12,176
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 384 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
48
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 12.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 12.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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 97.9%
Hispanic or Latino 1.3%
Asian 0.5%
Two or More 0.3%
Largest group: White at 97.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 4.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 4.1, Van Buren Co High School is less mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Van Buren County, which includes Van Buren Co High School.
$12,176
Per student
+13%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.9%
State 55.6%
Federal 22.4%
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 Van Buren Co High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spencer Elementary | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Van Buren Co High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 372
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar other schools in Spencer
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Similar other 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 (~384 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Van Buren Co High School's federal record.
- Compare Van Buren Co High School against another school. Compare schools
- Van Buren 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 Van Buren Co High School
How many students attend Van Buren Co High School?
Van Buren Co High School has 384 students enrolled. It is a public school in Spencer, TN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Van Buren Co High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Van Buren Co High School is 12.8:1, which is 16% lower than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 18% 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 Van Buren Co High School?
The largest demographic group at Van Buren Co High School is White at 97.9% of enrollment, in Spencer, TN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Van Buren Co High School?
Van Buren Co High School has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Van Buren Co High School a good school?
Van Buren Co High School earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 77% of Tennessee schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Van Buren County?
Besides Van Buren Co High School, Van Buren County also operates Spencer Elementary (372 students). See the Van Buren 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.