Enrollment
228
Alabama · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 010315001208
Zora Ellis Junior High School — Talladega, AL
Federal NCES profile for Zora Ellis Junior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 41/100.
👥 Class size 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 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: Talladega City · Alabama
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)
15.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.2:1
vs 17.8:1 Alabama avg
-15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
88.2%
vs 58.8% Alabama avg
+50% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Zora Ellis Junior High School compares with Alabama 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
Zora Ellis Junior High School reports 228 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 15.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.2:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 15% below the Alabama state mean of 17.8:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 88.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 50% above the Alabama average and 70% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 228 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 43.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Talladega City spends $14,046 per pupil district-wide, below the Alabama average of $14,500 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 20.3% from local sources (property taxes), 56.1% from the state, and 23.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D), 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 Zora Ellis Junior High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alabama state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alabama | Alabama avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.2:1 | ▼ 15% | 17.8:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 88.2% | ▲ 50% | 58.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 228 | top 10% | — | — |
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
88.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 50% 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
15.2:1
students per teacher
— 15% below state mean
Top 14% in Alabama — lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
43.9%
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
$14,046
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alabama avg of $14,500
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 228 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
88
in-school suspensions + 161 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 38.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 109.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 3 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 228 Top 10% in Alabama — larger than 90% of 1,369 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 15.0
Students per teacher 15.2:1 -15% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 88.2% +50% vs state
NCES ID 010315001208
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 228:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 43.9%
In-school suspensions 88
Out-of-school suspensions 161
Expulsions 3
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Talladega City, which includes Zora Ellis Junior High School.
$14,046
Per student
-3%
vs Alabama
Avg $14,500
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 20.3%
State 56.1%
Federal 23.7%
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
- 634
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
- Enrollment
- 353
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 302
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 174
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
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 Zora Ellis Junior High School
How many students attend Zora Ellis Junior High School?
Zora Ellis Junior High School has 228 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Talladega, AL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Zora Ellis Junior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Zora Ellis Junior High School is 15.2:1, which is 15% lower than the Alabama average of 17.8:1 and 4% 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 Zora Ellis Junior High School?
88.2% of students at Zora Ellis Junior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alabama average of 58.8%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Zora Ellis Junior High School?
Zora Ellis Junior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (D) 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.