Enrollment
215
Florida · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Margate, FL
Ascend Career Academy
Federal NCES profile for Ascend Career Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 13/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 120018008473Charter school
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ascend Career Academy earns 13/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data.
- #3 of 3
- high schools in Margate · Resource Index
- 13
- Resource Index · Lower
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 215
- students enrolled
By Resource Investment Index, Ascend Career Academy ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Margate, FL.
School address
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 52.0% Florida avg
+92% vs state
What stands out at Ascend Career Academy
Ascend Career Academy is a high-poverty, mid-sized charter high school in Margate, Florida, enrolling 215 students.
Economic need is high: 100.0% of students qualify for free meals, 92% above the Florida average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 215 puts it in the smaller third of Florida schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 99% of the 3,996 Florida schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 46 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Florida schools statewide, it ranks #42, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by African American (53%) and Hispanic or Latino (38%) (diversity index 57/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 98.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Broward also operates Cypress Bay High School (4,579 students) and Western High School (3,510 students) alongside Ascend Career Academy.
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 Ascend Career Academy compares
Ascend Career Academy on the metrics families compare, against Florida and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Florida | Florida avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 92% | 52.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 215 | top 83% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
215
Bigger than 21% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 92% above the Florida average of 52.0%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Engagement
98.1%
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
$11,419
per pupil, district-wide
- above Florida avg of $11,167
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.2 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
African American 52.6%
Hispanic or Latino 38.1%
White 6.0%
Two or More 1.4%
Asian 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
Largest group: African American at 52.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 57.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 57.4, Ascend Career Academy is more mixed than the Florida school average of 52.3.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Broward, which includes Ascend Career Academy.
$11,419
Per student
+2%
vs Florida
Avg $11,167
-31%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 49.6%
State 31.2%
Federal 19.2%
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 Ascend Career Academy Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cypress Bay High School | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| Western High School | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| Coral Glades High School | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
| West Broward High School | Larger | Lower economic need | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Ascend Career Academy's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,579
- Students per teacher
- 22.7:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
- Enrollment
- 3,510
- Students per teacher
- 24.4:1
- Resource Index
- 28/100
- Enrollment
- 3,089
- Students per teacher
- 22.4:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 2,843
- Students per teacher
- 29.6:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 2,492
- Students per teacher
- 24:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Florida, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ascend Career Academy's federal record.
- Compare Ascend Career Academy against another school. Compare schools
- Broward'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 Ascend Career Academy
How many students attend Ascend Career Academy?
Ascend Career Academy has 215 students enrolled. It is a high school in Margate, FL.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Ascend Career Academy?
100.0% of students at Ascend Career Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Florida average of 52.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ascend Career Academy?
The largest demographic group at Ascend Career Academy is African American at 52.6% of enrollment, in Margate, FL. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 57.4/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ascend Career Academy?
Ascend Career Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 13/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Ascend Career Academy rank among high schools in Margate?
By Resource Investment Index, Ascend Career Academy ranks #3 of 3 high schools in Margate, FL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Margate on the city page.
Is Ascend Career Academy a good school?
Ascend Career Academy earns 13/100 on the Resource Investment Index on federal resource data. 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 Broward?
Besides Ascend Career Academy, Broward also operates Cypress Bay High School (4,579 students), Western High School (3,510 students), and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (3,089 students). See the Broward 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.