Enrollment
187
Iowa · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 192973001692
Wapello Senior High School — Wapello, IA
Federal NCES profile for Wapello Senior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 52
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 63
📋 Attendance 25
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: Wapello 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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.1:1
vs 15:1 Iowa avg
-19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.6%
vs 36.4% Iowa avg
-10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wapello Senior High 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
Wapello Senior High School reports 187 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 19% below the Iowa state mean of 15:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 24% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 32.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 10% below the Iowa average and 37% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 187 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Wapello Comm School District spends $16,339 per pupil district-wide, below the Iowa average of $17,211 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 39.0% from local sources (property taxes), 48.4% from the state, and 12.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Wapello Senior High 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 | 12.1:1 | ▼ 19% | 15:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.6% | ▼ 10% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 187 | top 21% | — | — |
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
32.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 10% 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
12.1:1
students per teacher
— 19% below state mean
Top 19% in Iowa — lower ratio than 81% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
29.9%
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
$16,339
per pupil, district-wide
— below Iowa avg of $17,211
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 187 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 187 Top 21% in Iowa — larger than 79% of 1,326 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 12.1:1 -19% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 32.6% -10% vs state
NCES ID 192973001692
Student demographics
White 84.5%
Hispanic or Latino 11.8%
African American 2.1%
Two or More 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: White at 84.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 187:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.9%
In-school suspensions 10
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wapello Comm School District, which includes Wapello Senior High School.
$16,339
Per student
-5%
vs Iowa
Avg $17,211
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 39.0%
State 48.4%
Federal 12.6%
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
- 229
- Students per teacher
- 10.9:1
- Enrollment
- 102
- Students per teacher
- 27.3:1
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 Wapello Senior High School
How many students attend Wapello Senior High School?
Wapello Senior High School has 187 students enrolled. It is a high school in Wapello, IA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wapello Senior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Wapello Senior High School is 12.1:1, which is 19% lower than the Iowa average of 15:1 and 24% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Wapello Senior High School?
32.6% of students at Wapello Senior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Iowa average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wapello Senior High School?
The largest demographic group at Wapello Senior High School is White at 84.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Wapello, IA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wapello Senior High School?
Wapello Senior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (D) based on 5 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.