Enrollment
311
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 490114001521
Water Canyon High — Hildale, UT
Federal NCES profile for Water Canyon High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 22
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 69
📋 Attendance 35
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: Washington District · Utah
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)
18.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
19.4:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.1%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
+15% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Water Canyon High compares with Utah 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
Water Canyon High reports 311 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 18.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 19.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% below the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 22% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 32.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 15% above the Utah average and 38% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 156 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 26.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Washington District spends $9,512 per pupil district-wide, below the Utah average of $12,354 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 42.7% from local sources (property taxes), 43.3% from the state, and 14.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F), 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 Water Canyon High compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Utah state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 19.4:1 | ▼ 16% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.1% | ▲ 15% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 311 | 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
32.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 15% above the Utah average of 28.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
19.4:1
students per teacher
— 16% below state mean
Top 26% in Utah — lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
26.0%
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
$9,512
per pupil, district-wide
— below Utah avg of $12,354
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 156 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 311 Top 21% in Utah — larger than 79% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 18.0
Students per teacher 19.4:1 -16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 32.1% +15% vs state
NCES ID 490114001521
Student demographics
White 93.6%
Hispanic or Latino 4.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.3%
Two or More 1.0%
Largest group: White at 93.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 156:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 26.0%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Washington District, which includes Water Canyon High.
$9,512
Per student
-23%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
-51%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 42.7%
State 43.3%
Federal 14.0%
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
- 2,693
- Students per teacher
- 214.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,547
- Students per teacher
- 23.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,401
- Students per teacher
- 26.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,324
- Students per teacher
- 24.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,263
- Students per teacher
- 21.9:1
Similar other schools in Hildale
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
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 Water Canyon High
How many students attend Water Canyon High?
Water Canyon High has 311 students enrolled. It is a other school in HILDALE, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Water Canyon High?
The student-teacher ratio at Water Canyon High is 19.4:1, which is 16% lower than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 22% higher 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 Water Canyon High?
32.1% of students at Water Canyon High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Water Canyon High?
The largest demographic group at Water Canyon High is White at 93.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in HILDALE, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Water Canyon High?
Water Canyon High has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) 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.