Elementary school (grades K-5) · Edison, NJ

Martin Luther King Elementary School

Federal NCES profile for Martin Luther King Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.

2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 340450003354
0/100100/10048/100
👥 S:T ratio
49
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
73
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Martin Luther King Elementary School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 72% of New Jersey schools.

#3 of 10
elementary schools in Edison · Resource Index
48
Resource Index · Typical
12.8:1
large classes for New Jersey
8.6%
free-lunch eligible

Martin Luther King Elementary School has class sizes larger than 72% of New Jersey schools. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Martin Luther King Elementary School ranks #3 of 10 elementary schools in Edison, NJ.

Enrollment

591

New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

46.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

12.8:1

vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg

+8% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

8.6%

vs 29.6% New Jersey avg

-71% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Martin Luther King Elementary School compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians

Slightly above state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Martin Luther King Elementary School

Martin Luther King Elementary School is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Edison, New Jersey, enrolling 591 students.

Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 12.8:1 puts it in the larger third of New Jersey schools by student-teacher ratio.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 8.6% of students eligible for free meals.

Enrollment of 591 puts it in the larger third of New Jersey schools by headcount.

Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 2,501 scored New Jersey schools.

Among 597 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need New Jersey schools statewide, it ranks #442, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.

Its student body is predominantly Asian (82% of enrollment) (diversity index 33/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 591 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

11.0% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.

The surrounding Edison Township School District spends $20,030 per pupil, 20% below the New Jersey average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Among Edison's elementary schools, it stands alongside James Monroe Elementary School (537 students): Martin Luther King Elementary School is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (12.8:1 vs 12.5:1).

Edison Township School District also operates John P. Stevens High School (2,687 students) and Edison High School (2,393 students) alongside Martin Luther King Elementary School.

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 Martin Luther King Elementary School compares

Martin Luther King Elementary School on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs New Jersey New Jersey avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 12.8:1 ▲ 8% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 8.6% ▼ 71% 29.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 591 top 30% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

12.8:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
591
Bigger than 72% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
8.6%
free-lunch eligible - 71% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher - 8% above state mean
Top 72% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 28% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
11.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$20,030
per pupil, district-wide - below New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 591 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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

Asian 81.6%
African American 5.8%
Hispanic or Latino 4.9%
White 4.6%
Two or More 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%

Largest group: Asian at 81.6% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 32.6/100

Simpson diversity index - at 32.6, Martin Luther King Elementary School is less mixed than the New Jersey school average of 51.2.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Edison Township School District, which includes Martin Luther King Elementary School.

$20,030
Per student
-20%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+21%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 65.4%
State 29.0%
Federal 5.7%

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 Martin Luther King Elementary School Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
John P. Stevens High School Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
Edison High School Larger Higher economic need Higher S:T ratio
Woodrow Wilson Middle School Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Herbert Hoover Middle School Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio
Thomas Jefferson Middle School Larger Higher economic need Similar S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Martin Luther King Elementary School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Edison Township School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar elementary schools in Edison

1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.

Similar elementary schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Martin Luther King Elementary School's federal record.

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 Martin Luther King Elementary School

How many students attend Martin Luther King Elementary School?

Martin Luther King Elementary School has 591 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Edison, NJ.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Martin Luther King Elementary School?

The student-teacher ratio at Martin Luther King Elementary School is 12.8:1, which is 8% higher than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Martin Luther King Elementary School?

8.6% of students at Martin Luther King Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Martin Luther King Elementary School?

The largest demographic group at Martin Luther King Elementary School is Asian at 81.6% of enrollment, in Edison, NJ.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Martin Luther King Elementary School?

Martin Luther King Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Martin Luther King Elementary School rank among elementary schools in Edison?

By Resource Investment Index, Martin Luther King Elementary School ranks #3 of 10 elementary schools in Edison, NJ. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Edison on the city page.

Is Martin Luther King Elementary School a good school?

Martin Luther King Elementary School earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 72% of New Jersey schools. 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 Edison Township School District?

Besides Martin Luther King Elementary School, Edison Township School District also operates John P. Stevens High School (2,687 students), Edison High School (2,393 students), and Woodrow Wilson Middle School (1,206 students). See the Edison Township School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.