Enrollment
673
Connecticut · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 090474000956
Mark T. Sheehan High School — Wallingford, CT
Federal NCES profile for Mark T. Sheehan High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 71/100.
👥 Class size 58
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 66
📋 Attendance 61
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: Wallingford School District · Connecticut
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)
69.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.5:1
vs 12.1:1 Connecticut avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
21.7%
vs 36.4% Connecticut avg
-40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mark T. Sheehan High School compares with Connecticut 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
Mark T. Sheehan High School reports 673 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 69.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% below the Connecticut state mean of 12.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 34% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 21.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 40% below the Connecticut average and 58% below the national baseline. The school offers 24 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 168 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.5% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Wallingford School District spends $26,707 per pupil district-wide, below the Connecticut average of $28,239 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 62.6% from local sources (property taxes), 30.8% from the state, and 6.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 71/100 (B), 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 Mark T. Sheehan High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Connecticut state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Connecticut | Connecticut avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.5:1 | ▼ 13% | 12.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 21.7% | ▼ 40% | 36.4% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 673 | top 83% | — | — |
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
21.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 40% below the Connecticut average of 36.4%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.5:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 24% in Connecticut — lower ratio than 76% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
15.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$26,707
per pupil, district-wide
— below Connecticut avg of $28,239
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 168 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
44
in-school suspensions + 31 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 4 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 673 Top 83% in Connecticut — larger than 17% of 1,005 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 69.0
Students per teacher 10.5:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 21.7% -40% vs state
NCES ID 090474000956
Student demographics
White 64.9%
Hispanic or Latino 21.5%
Asian 6.4%
Two or More 4.5%
African American 2.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 64.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 24
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 168:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.5%
In-school suspensions 44
Out-of-school suspensions 31
Expulsions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Wallingford School District, which includes Mark T. Sheehan High School.
$26,707
Per student
-5%
vs Connecticut
Avg $28,239
+37%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 62.6%
State 30.8%
Federal 6.6%
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
- 936
- Students per teacher
- 9.7:1
- Enrollment
- 593
- Students per teacher
- 10:1
- Enrollment
- 531
- Students per teacher
- 9.6:1
- Enrollment
- 357
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Enrollment
- 326
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
Similar high schools in Wallingford
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Mark T. Sheehan High School
How many students attend Mark T. Sheehan High School?
Mark T. Sheehan High School has 673 students enrolled. It is a high school in Wallingford, CT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mark T. Sheehan High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mark T. Sheehan High School is 10.5:1, which is 13% lower than the Connecticut average of 12.1:1 and 34% 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 Mark T. Sheehan High School?
21.7% of students at Mark T. Sheehan High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Connecticut average of 36.4%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mark T. Sheehan High School?
The largest demographic group at Mark T. Sheehan High School is White at 64.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Wallingford, CT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mark T. Sheehan High School?
Mark T. Sheehan High School has a Resource Investment Index of 71/100 (B) 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.