Enrollment
538
Louisiana · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 220054000442
Westdale Middle School — Baton Rouge, LA
Federal NCES profile for Westdale Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 37/100.
👥 Class size 31
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 46
📋 Attendance 0
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: East Baton Rouge Parish · Louisiana
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)
44.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.2:1
vs 18.6:1 Louisiana avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
65.1%
vs 62.5% Louisiana avg
+4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Westdale Middle School compares with Louisiana 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
Westdale Middle School reports 538 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 44.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Louisiana state mean of 18.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 8% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 65.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 4% above the Louisiana average and 26% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 269 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 50.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding East Baton Rouge Parish spends $17,757 per pupil district-wide, below the Louisiana average of $17,870 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.2% from local sources (property taxes), 24.4% from the state, and 21.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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 Westdale Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Louisiana state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Louisiana | Louisiana avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.2:1 | ▼ 8% | 18.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 65.1% | ▲ 4% | 62.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 538 | top 65% | — | — |
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
65.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 4% above the Louisiana average of 62.5%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
17.2:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 46% in Louisiana — lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
50.9%
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
$17,757
per pupil, district-wide
— below Louisiana avg of $17,870
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 269 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
72
in-school suspensions + 277 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 13.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 64.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 31 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 538 Top 65% in Louisiana — larger than 35% of 1,330 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 44.0
Students per teacher 17.2:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 65.1% +4% vs state
NCES ID 220054000442
Student demographics
African American 65.8%
Hispanic or Latino 20.1%
White 10.2%
Asian 2.0%
Two or More 1.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: African American at 65.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 269:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 50.9%
In-school suspensions 72
Out-of-school suspensions 277
Expulsions 31
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for East Baton Rouge Parish, which includes Westdale Middle School.
$17,757
Per student
-1%
vs Louisiana
Avg $17,870
-9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.2%
State 24.4%
Federal 21.4%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,593
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 1,331
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,218
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,122
- Students per teacher
- 23.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,016
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
Similar middle schools in Baton Rouge
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Southeast Middle School
Standard public school
826 students 18.1:1 students per teacher
Woodlawn Middle School
Standard public school
807 students 21.1:1 students per teacher
Sherwood Middle Academic Academy
Standard public school
759 students 18.8:1 students per teacher
Mckinley Middle Magnet School
Standard public school
633 students 16.6:1 students per teacher
Glasgow Middle School
Standard public school
542 students 30.6:1 students per teacher
Park Forest Middle School
Standard public school
445 students 16.2:1 students per teacher
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 Westdale Middle School
How many students attend Westdale Middle School?
Westdale Middle School has 538 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Baton Rouge, LA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Westdale Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Westdale Middle School is 17.2:1, which is 8% lower than the Louisiana average of 18.6:1 and 8% 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 Westdale Middle School?
65.1% of students at Westdale Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Louisiana average of 62.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Westdale Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Westdale Middle School is African American at 65.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Baton Rouge, LA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Westdale Middle School?
Westdale Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 37/100 (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.