Enrollment
200
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 348020006013
Mercer High School — Hamilton, NJ
Federal NCES profile for Mercer High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 72
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 93
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
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)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
7.1:1
vs 11.9:1 New Jersey avg
-40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
42.6%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
+44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mercer High School compares with New Jersey 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 High School reports 200 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 34.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 7.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 40% below the New Jersey state mean of 11.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 55% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 42.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 44% above the New Jersey average and 18% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 33 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1.
Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), calculated from 4 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 High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New Jersey state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 7.1:1 | ▼ 40% | 11.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 42.6% | ▲ 44% | 29.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 200 | top 11% | — | — |
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
42.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 44% above the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
7.1:1
students per teacher
— 40% below state mean
Top 4% in New Jersey — lower ratio than 96% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 33 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
Enrollment 200 Top 11% in New Jersey — larger than 89% of 2,509 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 34.0
Students per teacher 7.1:1 -40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 42.6% +44% vs state
NCES ID 348020006013
Student demographics
African American 39.0%
Hispanic or Latino 32.5%
White 19.5%
Asian 6.5%
Two or More 2.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.5%
Largest group: African American at 39.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 33:1
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 7
Expulsions 1
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 141
- Students per teacher
- 5.8:1
- Enrollment
- 97
- Students per teacher
- 5.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1
- Students per teacher
- —
Similar high schools in Hamilton
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 Mercer High School
How many students attend Mercer High School?
Mercer High School has 200 students enrolled. It is a high school in Hamilton, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mercer High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mercer High School is 7.1:1, which is 40% lower than the New Jersey average of 11.9:1 and 55% 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 Mercer High School?
42.6% of students at Mercer High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mercer High School?
The largest demographic group at Mercer High School is African American at 39.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Hamilton, NJ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mercer High School?
Mercer High School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.