Other / mixed grade configuration · Altoona, AL

West End Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for West End Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 30/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 010138000508
0/100100/10030/100
👥 S:T ratio
29
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
22
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

West End Elementary School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Alabama median.

30
Resource Index · Lower
17.7:1
students per teacher
67.9%
free-lunch eligible
390
students enrolled

West End Elementary School has class sizes near the Alabama median. Computed live against every Alabama school reporting to NCES.

School address

Enrollment

390

Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

22.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

17.7:1

vs 17.7:1 Alabama avg

+0% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

67.9%

vs 58.8% Alabama avg

+15% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How West End Elementary School compares with Alabama and U.S. medians

At or below state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at West End Elementary School

West End Elementary School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Altoona, Alabama, enrolling 390 students.

At 17.7:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Alabama median, within a few percentage points of the 17.7:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 67.9% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 390 puts it in the smaller third of Alabama schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,365 scored Alabama schools.

Among 384 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Alabama schools statewide, it ranks #305, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly White (85% of enrollment) (diversity index 28/100).

Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 390 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 43.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

Its district draws 18.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.

Etowah County also operates Southside High School (825 students) and John S Jones Elementary School (745 students) alongside West End Elementary School.

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 West End Elementary School compares

West End Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against Alabama and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Alabama Alabama avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 17.7:1 ▼ 0% 17.7:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 67.9% ▲ 15% 58.8% 51.7%
Enrollment 390 top 66% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

17.7:1
Leaner classes than 26% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
390
Bigger than 46% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
67.9%
free-lunch eligible - 15% above the Alabama average of 58.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.7:1
students per teacher - 0% above state mean
Top 55% in Alabama - lower ratio than 45% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
43.1%
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
$10,738
per pupil, district-wide - below Alabama avg of $12,491
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 390 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.3 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 84.6%
Hispanic or Latino 8.2%
Two or More 4.6%
African American 1.3%
Asian 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%

Largest group: White at 84.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 27.5/100

Simpson diversity index - at 27.5, West End Elementary School is less mixed than the Alabama school average of 42.5.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Etowah County, which includes West End Elementary School.

$10,738
Per student
-14%
vs Alabama
Avg $12,491
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 16.7%
State 64.9%
Federal 18.3%

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 West End Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Southside High School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
John S Jones Elementary School Larger Lower economic need Lower S:T ratio
Rainbow Middle School Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Hokes Bluff Elementary School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio
Southside Elementary School Larger Lower economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to West End Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Etowah County · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Alabama, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on West End Elementary School's federal record.

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 West End Elementary School

How many students attend West End Elementary School?

West End Elementary School has 390 students enrolled. It is a public school in Altoona, AL.

What is the student-teacher ratio at West End Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at West End Elementary School is 17.7:1, which is 0% higher than the Alabama average of 17.7:1 and 13% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at West End Elementary School?

67.9% of students at West End Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of West End Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at West End Elementary School is White at 84.6% of enrollment, in Altoona, AL.

What is the Resource Investment Index for West End Elementary School?

West End Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (lower 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 West End Elementary School a good school?

West End Elementary School earns 30/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Alabama median. 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 Etowah County?

Besides West End Elementary School, Etowah County also operates Southside High School (825 students), John S Jones Elementary School (745 students), and Rainbow Middle School (634 students). See the Etowah County district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.