Enrollment
1,905
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 040757000604
Desert Mountain High School — Scottsdale, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Desert Mountain High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 14
📚 AP courses 75
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 5
📋 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: Scottsdale Unified District (4240) · Arizona
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)
87.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.6:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
6.0%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-88% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Desert Mountain High School compares with Arizona 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
Desert Mountain High School reports 1,905 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 87.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.6:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 22% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 36% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 6.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 88% below the Arizona average and 88% below the national baseline. The school offers 15 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 476 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 43.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Scottsdale Unified District (4240) spends $12,713 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 68.5% from local sources (property taxes), 19.1% from the state, and 12.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F), calculated from 5 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 Desert Mountain High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 21.6:1 | ▲ 22% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 6.0% | ▼ 88% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,905 | top 97% | — | — |
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
6.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 88% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.6:1
students per teacher
— 22% above state mean
Top 83% in Arizona — lower ratio than 17% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
43.1%
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
$12,713
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 476 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 87 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,905 Top 97% in Arizona — larger than 3% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 87.0
Students per teacher 21.6:1 +22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 6.0% -88% vs state
NCES ID 040757000604
Student demographics
White 69.7%
Asian 12.6%
Hispanic or Latino 9.7%
Two or More 3.3%
African American 3.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
Largest group: White at 69.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 15
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 476:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 43.1%
In-school suspensions 10
Out-of-school suspensions 87
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Scottsdale Unified District (4240), which includes Desert Mountain High School.
$12,713
Per student
-16%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 68.5%
State 19.1%
Federal 12.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,773
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,679
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,300
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 953
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
- Enrollment
- 861
- Students per teacher
- 20.6:1
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 Desert Mountain High School
How many students attend Desert Mountain High School?
Desert Mountain High School has 1,905 students enrolled. It is a high school in Scottsdale, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Desert Mountain High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Desert Mountain High School is 21.6:1, which is 22% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 36% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Desert Mountain High School?
6.0% of students at Desert Mountain High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Desert Mountain High School?
The largest demographic group at Desert Mountain High School is White at 69.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in Scottsdale, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Desert Mountain High School?
Desert Mountain High School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.