Enrollment
1,044
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 421479001159
Mars Area Shs — Mars, PA
Federal NCES profile for Mars Area Shs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 39
📚 AP courses 70
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 62
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: Mars Area Sd · Pennsylvania
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
15.3:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
10.9%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-81% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mars Area Shs compares with Pennsylvania 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
Mars Area Shs reports 1,044 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 69.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% above the Pennsylvania state mean of 13.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 4% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 10.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 81% below the Pennsylvania average and 79% below the national baseline. The school offers 14 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 298 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mars Area Sd spends $15,092 per pupil district-wide, below the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 70.2% from local sources (property taxes), 26.0% from the state, and 3.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C), 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 Mars Area Shs compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 15.3:1 | ▲ 13% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 10.9% | ▼ 81% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,044 | top 91% | — | — |
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
10.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 81% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
15.3:1
students per teacher
— 13% above state mean
Top 79% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 21% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
15.3%
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
$15,092
per pupil, district-wide
— below Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.5 FTE
Per 298 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
64
in-school suspensions + 26 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,044 Top 91% in Pennsylvania — larger than 9% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 69.0
Students per teacher 15.3:1 +13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 10.9% -81% vs state
NCES ID 421479001159
Student demographics
White 93.6%
Asian 3.1%
Hispanic or Latino 1.9%
African American 1.0%
Two or More 0.5%
Largest group: White at 93.6% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 14
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.5
Students per counselor 298:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.3%
In-school suspensions 64
Out-of-school suspensions 26
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mars Area Sd, which includes Mars Area Shs.
$15,092
Per student
-34%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
-23%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 70.2%
State 26.0%
Federal 3.8%
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
- 880
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Enrollment
- 627
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 563
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Enrollment
- 506
- Students per teacher
- 21.3:1
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 Mars Area Shs
How many students attend Mars Area Shs?
Mars Area Shs has 1,044 students enrolled. It is a high school in Mars, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mars Area Shs?
The student-teacher ratio at Mars Area Shs is 15.3:1, which is 13% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 4% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mars Area Shs?
10.9% of students at Mars Area Shs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mars Area Shs?
The largest demographic group at Mars Area Shs is White at 93.6%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mars, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mars Area Shs?
Mars Area Shs has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C) 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.