Enrollment
402
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Hingham, MA
Wm L Foster Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Wm L Foster Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 250609000876
👥 S:T ratio 53
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 72
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Wm L Foster Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Massachusetts median.
- #1 of 3
- elementary schools in Hingham · Resource Index
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.8:1
- students per teacher
- 402
- students enrolled
Wm L Foster Elementary has class sizes near the Massachusetts median. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Wm L Foster Elementary ranks #1 of 3 elementary schools in Hingham, MA.
School address
District: Hingham · Massachusetts
NCES ID 250609000876 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.8:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
-4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Wm L Foster Elementary compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Wm L Foster Elementary
Wm L Foster Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Hingham, Massachusetts, enrolling 402 students.
At 11.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Massachusetts median, within a few percentage points of the 12.3:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
With 402 students, its enrollment sits close to the Massachusetts median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 25/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 228 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
11.2% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Among Hingham's elementary schools, it stands alongside South Elementary (496 students): Wm L Foster Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.8:1 vs 13.4:1).
Hingham also operates Hingham High (1,066 students) and Hingham Middle School (798 students) alongside Wm L Foster Elementary.
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 Wm L Foster Elementary compares
Wm L Foster Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.8:1 | ▼ 4% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 402 | top 52% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.8:1
Leaner classes than 77% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
402
Bigger than 48% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
11.8:1
students per teacher
- 4% below state mean
Top 48% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 52% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
11.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$20,707
per pupil, district-wide
- below Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.8 FTE
Per 228 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 86.1%
Two or More 6.7%
Hispanic or Latino 4.0%
African American 1.5%
Asian 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 86.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 25.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 25.2, Wm L Foster Elementary is less mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hingham, which includes Wm L Foster Elementary.
$20,707
Per student
-8%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 74.1%
State 22.5%
Federal 3.5%
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 Wm L Foster Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hingham High | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Hingham Middle School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| East Elementary School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| South Elementary | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Plymouth River | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Wm L Foster Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,066
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
- Enrollment
- 798
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 502
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 496
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 352
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
Similar elementary schools in Hingham
2 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~402 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Wm L Foster Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Wm L Foster Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Hingham'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 Wm L Foster Elementary
How many students attend Wm L Foster Elementary?
Wm L Foster Elementary has 402 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Hingham, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Wm L Foster Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Wm L Foster Elementary is 11.8:1, which is 4% lower than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 25% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Wm L Foster Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Wm L Foster Elementary is White at 86.1% of enrollment, in Hingham, MA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Wm L Foster Elementary?
Wm L Foster Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher 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).
How does Wm L Foster Elementary rank among elementary schools in Hingham?
By Resource Investment Index, Wm L Foster Elementary ranks #1 of 3 elementary schools in Hingham, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Hingham on the city page.
Is Wm L Foster Elementary a good school?
Wm L Foster Elementary earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Massachusetts 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 Hingham?
Besides Wm L Foster Elementary, Hingham also operates Hingham High (1,066 students), Hingham Middle School (798 students), and East Elementary School (502 students). See the Hingham 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.