Enrollment
630
Arkansas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Walnut Ridge, AR
Walnut Ridge Elementary School
Federal NCES profile for Walnut Ridge Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 050008201186
👥 S:T ratio 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 16
📋 Attendance 52
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Walnut Ridge Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 73% of Arkansas schools.
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.2:1
- large classes for Arkansas
- 43.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 630
- students enrolled
Walnut Ridge Elementary School has class sizes larger than 73% of Arkansas schools. Computed live against every Arkansas school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lawrence County School District · Arkansas
NCES ID 050008201186 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.2:1
vs 13.6:1 Arkansas avg
+19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
43.3%
vs 59.2% Arkansas avg
-27% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Walnut Ridge Elementary School compares with Arkansas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Walnut Ridge Elementary School
Walnut Ridge Elementary School is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, enrolling 630 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.2:1 puts it in the larger third of Arkansas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 43.3% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 630 puts it in the larger third of Arkansas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 1,066 scored Arkansas schools.
Against 251 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #118.
Its student body is predominantly White (90% of enrollment) (diversity index 19/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 420 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 21.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Its district, Lawrence County School District, also runs Walnut Ridge High School (437 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 Walnut Ridge Elementary School compares
Walnut Ridge Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Arkansas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Arkansas | Arkansas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 16.2:1 | ▲ 19% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 43.3% | ▼ 27% | 59.2% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 630 | top 17% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.2:1
Leaner classes than 36% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
630
Bigger than 75% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
43.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 27% below the Arkansas average of 59.2%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.2:1
students per teacher
- 19% above state mean
Top 73% in Arkansas - lower ratio than 27% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
19.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$9,980
per pupil, district-wide
- below Arkansas avg of $12,251
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 420 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
35
in-school suspensions + 3 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.
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 89.7%
Hispanic or Latino 5.2%
Two or More 3.3%
African American 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Asian 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 89.7% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 19.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 19.2, Walnut Ridge Elementary School is less mixed than the Arkansas school average of 40.4.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lawrence County School District, which includes Walnut Ridge Elementary School.
$9,980
Per student
-19%
vs Arkansas
Avg $12,251
-40%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.5%
State 43.9%
Federal 21.6%
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.
How Walnut Ridge Elementary School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walnut Ridge High School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Walnut Ridge Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 437
- Students per teacher
- 8.2:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Arkansas, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~630 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Walnut Ridge Elementary School's federal record.
- Compare Walnut Ridge Elementary School against another school. Compare schools
- Lawrence County School District'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 Walnut Ridge Elementary School
How many students attend Walnut Ridge Elementary School?
Walnut Ridge Elementary School has 630 students enrolled. It is a public school in Walnut Ridge, AR.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Walnut Ridge Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Walnut Ridge Elementary School is 16.2:1, which is 19% higher than the Arkansas average of 13.6:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Walnut Ridge Elementary School?
43.3% of students at Walnut Ridge Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arkansas average of 59.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Walnut Ridge Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Walnut Ridge Elementary School is White at 89.7% of enrollment, in Walnut Ridge, AR.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Walnut Ridge Elementary School?
Walnut Ridge Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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 Walnut Ridge Elementary School a good school?
Walnut Ridge Elementary School earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 73% of Arkansas 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 Lawrence County School District?
Besides Walnut Ridge Elementary School, Lawrence County School District also operates Walnut Ridge High School (437 students). See the Lawrence County School District 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.