Enrollment
456
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 490013101220 Charter school
Merit College Preparatory Academy — Springville, UT
Federal NCES profile for Merit College Preparatory Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 29/100.
👥 Class size 31
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 0
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: Merit College Preparatory Academy · Utah
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)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.3:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
-25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
27.1%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
-3% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Merit College Preparatory Academy compares with Utah 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
Merit College Preparatory Academy reports 456 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 25% below the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 9% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 27.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 3% below the Utah average and 48% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 228 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 49.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Merit College Preparatory Academy spends $9,331 per pupil district-wide, below the Utah average of $12,354 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 5.2% from local sources (property taxes), 83.1% from the state, and 11.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (F), 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 Merit College Preparatory Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Utah state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Utah | Utah avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.3:1 | ▼ 25% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 27.1% | ▼ 3% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 456 | top 39% | — | — |
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
27.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 3% below the Utah average of 28.0%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.3:1
students per teacher
— 25% below state mean
Top 17% in Utah — lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
49.1%
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
$9,331
per pupil, district-wide
— below Utah avg of $12,354
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 228 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
71
in-school suspensions + 63 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 15.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 29.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 2 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 456 Top 39% in Utah — larger than 61% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 17.3:1 -25% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 27.1% -3% vs state
NCES ID 490013101220
Student demographics
White 71.3%
Hispanic or Latino 22.8%
Two or More 2.4%
Asian 1.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.1%
African American 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: White at 71.3% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 3
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 228:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 49.1%
In-school suspensions 71
Out-of-school suspensions 63
Expulsions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Merit College Preparatory Academy, which includes Merit College Preparatory Academy.
$9,331
Per student
-24%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
-52%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 5.2%
State 83.1%
Federal 11.6%
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.
Similar other schools in Springville
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Springville High
Standard public school
1,665 students 22.7:1 students per teacher
Springville Jr High
Standard public school
1,086 students 23.8:1 students per teacher
Meadow Brook School
Standard public school
679 students 24.7:1 students per teacher
Westside School
Standard public school
640 students 23.2:1 students per teacher
Sage Creek School
Standard public school
466 students 21.6:1 students per teacher
Cherry Creek School
Standard public school
455 students 26.6:1 students per teacher
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 Merit College Preparatory Academy
How many students attend Merit College Preparatory Academy?
Merit College Preparatory Academy has 456 students enrolled. It is a other school in SPRINGVILLE, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Merit College Preparatory Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Merit College Preparatory Academy is 17.3:1, which is 25% lower than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 9% higher 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 Merit College Preparatory Academy?
27.1% of students at Merit College Preparatory Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Merit College Preparatory Academy?
The largest demographic group at Merit College Preparatory Academy is White at 71.3%. The school serves a diverse student body in SPRINGVILLE, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Merit College Preparatory Academy?
Merit College Preparatory Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 29/100 (F) based on 4 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.