Enrollment
1,674
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Ardmore, PA
Lower Merion Hs
Federal NCES profile for Lower Merion Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 65/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 421416003295
👥 S:T ratio 52
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 44
📋 Attendance 57
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lower Merion Hs earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Pennsylvania.
- 65
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12:1
- small classes for Pennsylvania
- 16.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,674
- students enrolled
Lower Merion Hs has class sizes smaller than 72% of Pennsylvania schools. Computed live against every Pennsylvania school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Lower Merion Sd · Pennsylvania
NCES ID 421416003295 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
140.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12:1
vs 13.6:1 Pennsylvania avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
16.3%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-72% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lower Merion Hs compares with Pennsylvania and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lower Merion Hs
Lower Merion Hs is a lower-poverty, large high school in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, enrolling 1,674 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12:1 puts it in the smaller third of Pennsylvania schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 16.3% free-meal eligibility runs 72% below the Pennsylvania average.
By headcount it is one of the larger campuses in Pennsylvania, bigger than 97% of state schools at 1,674 students.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,889 scored Pennsylvania schools.
Against 106 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #26.
Its student body is led by White (62%) and African American (13%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 58/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 23 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 279 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
17.0% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Lower Merion Sd spends $30,110 per pupil, 68% above the Pennsylvania average, a better-resourced district than most.
Lower Merion Sd also operates Harriton Shs (1,239 students) and Black Rock Ms (1,077 students) alongside Lower Merion Hs.
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 Lower Merion Hs compares
Lower Merion Hs on the metrics families compare, against Pennsylvania and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12:1 | ▼ 12% | 13.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 16.3% | ▼ 72% | 58.1% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 1,674 | top 3% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12:1
Leaner classes than 75% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
1,674
Bigger than 97% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
16.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 72% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 28% in Pennsylvania - lower ratio than 72% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
17.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$30,110
per pupil, district-wide
- above Pennsylvania avg of $17,970
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 279 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
20
in-school suspensions + 36 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.3 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 61.5%
African American 13.2%
Asian 11.1%
Two or More 8.3%
Hispanic or Latino 5.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 61.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 58.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 58.2, Lower Merion Hs is more mixed than the Pennsylvania school average of 37.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 23
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lower Merion Sd, which includes Lower Merion Hs.
$30,110
Per student
+68%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $17,970
+81%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 83.7%
State 14.1%
Federal 2.3%
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 Lower Merion Hs Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harriton Shs | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Black Rock Ms | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bala-Cynwyd Ms | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Welsh Valley Ms | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Penn Wynne Sch | Smaller | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lower Merion Hs's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,239
- Students per teacher
- 10.5:1
- Resource Index
- 63/100
- Enrollment
- 1,077
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Resource Index
- 57/100
- Enrollment
- 794
- Students per teacher
- 10.1:1
- Resource Index
- 70/100
- Enrollment
- 788
- Students per teacher
- 9.8:1
- Resource Index
- 68/100
- Enrollment
- 621
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 61/100
Similar high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Pennsylvania, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~1,674 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lower Merion Hs's federal record.
- Compare Lower Merion Hs against another school. Compare schools
- Lower Merion Sd'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 Lower Merion Hs
How many students attend Lower Merion Hs?
Lower Merion Hs has 1,674 students enrolled. It is a high school in Ardmore, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lower Merion Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Lower Merion Hs is 12:1, which is 12% lower than the Pennsylvania average of 13.6:1 and 24% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lower Merion Hs?
16.3% of students at Lower Merion Hs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lower Merion Hs?
The largest demographic group at Lower Merion Hs is White at 61.5% of enrollment, in Ardmore, PA. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 58.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lower Merion Hs?
Lower Merion Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 65/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Lower Merion Hs a good school?
Lower Merion Hs earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 72% of Pennsylvania schools. It is also one of the largest schools in Pennsylvania. 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 Lower Merion Sd?
Besides Lower Merion Hs, Lower Merion Sd also operates Harriton Shs (1,239 students), Black Rock Ms (1,077 students), and Bala-Cynwyd Ms (794 students). See the Lower Merion Sd 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.