Every public school, district, and the headline NCES measures for Oklahoma - 544 districts, drawn straight from federal records.
Compiled by PlainSchools, Education-data publisher
Scored 0-100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores - the same index shown on every school page, averaged across 1,778 scored Oklahoma schools. Full methodology →
The state in one line
Oklahoma runs 1,778 public schools across 544 districts, with a 16.1:1 average classroom and - of students on subsidized lunch.
1,778
public schools
544
school districts
16.1:1
avg student–teacher
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free/reduced lunch
What the NCES Data Says About Oklahoma Schools
Oklahoma operates 1,778 public K-12 schools organised into 544 independent school districts serving 696,253 students, per the National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data 2024-25. The largest district, Tulsa, enrolls 33,871 pupils across 69 schools at $11,873 per student, while smaller rural districts can run fewer than a dozen campuses. This fragmentation, inherited from century-old township governance patterns in many states, is why per-pupil spending, class sizes, and programme availability vary dramatically inside a single state boundary.
Statewide, the average student-teacher ratio is 16.1:1, a useful benchmark for comparing any individual district or school on PlainSchools. The district table below is sortable by enrollment, school count, and per-pupil expenditure, the three fields that best predict a district's financial and demographic profile. For schools specifically, use the rankings links above to view per-category leaderboards covering spending, student-teacher ratio, best schools by composite quality score, chronic absenteeism, and funding-equity distribution within the state.
Every district figure here pulls from two distinct federal surveys: enrollment and demographic data come from the NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (school membership and directory), while per-pupil spending, teacher salaries, and federal/state/local revenue shares originate in the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey (FY 2022-23). Civil-rights indicators, gifted enrollment, AP course counts, counselor staffing, chronic absenteeism, in- and out-of-school suspensions, come from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Cross-referencing these three sources is what lets PlainSchools produce composite scores and equity rankings that single-source tools cannot.
Oklahoma's average student-teacher ratio vs. every US state
Average students per teacher, state by state (lower means more staffing per student)
16lower student-teacher ratio than 25% of 51 US states
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
Federal data, transparent formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal survey data - enrollment, staffing, finance, and demographics from NCES. The diversity index and composite quality scores referenced on this page are PlainSchools' own transparent derived indices (not an official NCES rating), computed directly from those datasets with the exact formula disclosed on our methodology page; every input number traces to a cited source. These figures describe reported resource allocation across a large, varied state - a starting point for comparing districts and schools, not a substitute for reviewing a specific school's own record.
Oklahoma per-pupil spending varies 6.3× across districts
Per-pupil spending in Oklahoma ranges from $7,674 (lowest district) to $48,531 (highest), a spread of $40,857. That spread reflects typical state-level variation between high-property-value suburbs and rural or low-tax-base districts. High-spending districts typically draw on higher property tax bases, a structural feature of state education finance under the federal Title I framework that sets the floor but not the ceiling.
Oklahoma operates 544 school districts, among the most fragmented K-12 governance structures in the country
Each district has independent budgeting, hiring, and curriculum authority. The fragmentation predates modern county-level consolidation efforts and reflects 19th-century township governance patterns, a feature of states that organised public schooling around small civic units rather than centralised state systems. Per-pupil spending and accountability variations are largest in fragmented states because each district sets its own tax rate, contracts, and programme mix without state-level coordination above the regulatory floor.
Average Oklahoma student-teacher ratio is 16.1:1 - near the U.S. average of approximately 16:1
Student-teacher ratio is the simplest staffing metric reported on NCES Common Core of Data, but it does not capture push-in specialists, intervention staff, English Language Learner aides, special education co-teachers, or counseling and support staff. Variation between districts within the state is wider than the state-average figure suggests, large urban districts may run 20:1 while small rural districts run 10:1, both inside the same average. Class-load comparisons are most meaningful at the district or school level, not the state aggregate.
Oklahoma's public schools average a Simpson diversity index of 59.6/100, above the national average of 43.5. The index runs 0-100 from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality. See where Oklahoma ranks in our national school-diversity analysis.
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25, NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22.
Using the Oklahoma data
Oklahoma's 1,778 schools sit inside 544 districts - compare at the district level first.
District boundaries decide enrollment: shortlist 2-3 districts on spending, ratio, and size before comparing individual schools. Compare districts →
Check how Oklahoma distributes money across its districts, funding equity varies more within states than between them. Funding equity →
Verify any school's federal record (enrollment, staffing, CRDC flags) before a visit or enrollment decision. Look up a school →
Figures are the federal record (CCD 2024-25, F-33 FY 2022-23, CRDC 2021-22) - they lag the current school year. PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score used in our rankings is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many public schools are in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma has 1,778 public schools across 544 school districts, serving 696,253 students.
What is the average student-teacher ratio in Oklahoma?
The average student-teacher ratio in Oklahoma public schools is 16.1:1. This varies by district, use the district table below to compare.
What is the largest school district in Oklahoma?
The largest school district in Oklahoma is Tulsa with 33,871 students across 69 schools.
Why does per-pupil spending vary so much across Oklahoma districts?
Oklahoma districts spend between $7,674 and $48,531 per pupil, a 6.3× range. This is a notable but not extreme spread. Most U.S. states fund schools through a mix of state aid (typically 40-60%), local property tax (30-50%), and federal Title I (5-15%); districts in higher property-value areas raise more per pupil from local taxes, while state aid is intended to partially equalise funding across districts. The federal F-33 finance survey reports actual current expenditures including instructional and support services.
Largest K-12 public schools by total students enrolled
students
Epic Charter School Hi…
14,517
Epic Charter School High School
14,517 students
100.0% of the leader · rank #1 · Oklahoma City, OK
Epic Charter School El…
14,019
Epic Charter School Elementary
14,019 students
96.6% of the leader · rank #2 · Oklahoma City, OK
Broken Arrow Hs
4,802
Broken Arrow Hs
4,802 students
33.1% of the leader · rank #3 · Broken Arrow, OK
Mustang Hs
3,804
Mustang Hs
3,804 students
26.2% of the leader · rank #4 · Mustang, OK
Jenks Hs
3,655
Jenks Hs
3,655 students
25.2% of the leader · rank #5 · Jenks, OK
Union Hs
3,569
Union Hs
3,569 students
24.6% of the leader · rank #6 · Tulsa, OK
Owasso Hs
3,050
Owasso Hs
3,050 students
21.0% of the leader · rank #7 · Owasso, OK
Yukon Hs
2,984
Yukon Hs
2,984 students
20.6% of the leader · rank #8 · Yukon, OK
What this shows The largest public schools in Oklahoma by enrollment, often statewide virtual academies or large consolidated campuses, so size here reflects reach, not quality.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD) - Public school universe · 2023-2024 Public K-12 school enrollment, demographics, and operational data; collected annually by NCES from state education agencies.