Enrollment
411
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 170139500018
Mercer County High School — Aledo, IL
Federal NCES profile for Mercer County High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 35/100.
👥 Class size 44
📚 AP courses 60
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 18
📋 Attendance 25
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: Mercer County School District 404 · Illinois
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)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.9:1
vs 14.6:1 Illinois avg
-5% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mercer County High School compares with Illinois 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
Mercer County High School reports 411 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 29.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.9:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% below the Illinois state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 13% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
The school offers 12 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 411 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 29.9% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mercer County School District 404 spends $15,970 per pupil district-wide, below the Illinois average of $20,099 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 53.6% from local sources (property taxes), 38.0% from the state, and 8.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (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 Mercer County High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Illinois state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.9:1 | ▼ 5% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Enrollment | 411 | top 56% | — | — |
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.
Staffing depth
13.9:1
students per teacher
— 5% below state mean
Top 54% in Illinois — lower ratio than 46% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
29.9%
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
$15,970
per pupil, district-wide
— below Illinois avg of $20,099
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 411 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
19
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 411 Top 56% in Illinois — larger than 44% of 3,845 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 29.0
Students per teacher 13.9:1 -5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible —
NCES ID 170139500018
Student demographics
White 92.9%
Two or More 3.2%
Hispanic or Latino 2.2%
African American 1.0%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 92.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 12
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 411:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 29.9%
In-school suspensions 19
Out-of-school suspensions 8
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mercer County School District 404, which includes Mercer County High School.
$15,970
Per student
-21%
vs Illinois
Avg $20,099
-18%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 53.6%
State 38.0%
Federal 8.3%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 362
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Enrollment
- 270
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Enrollment
- 165
- Students per teacher
- 8.8:1
- Enrollment
- 66
- Students per teacher
- 27:1
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 Mercer County High School
How many students attend Mercer County High School?
Mercer County High School has 411 students enrolled. It is a high school in Aledo, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mercer County High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mercer County High School is 13.9:1, which is 5% lower than the Illinois average of 14.6:1 and 13% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mercer County High School?
The largest demographic group at Mercer County High School is White at 92.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in Aledo, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mercer County High School?
Mercer County High School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (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.