Enrollment
258
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Rock Falls, IL
Merrill Elem School
Federal NCES profile for Merrill Elem School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 173435003522
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Merrill Elem School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median.
- #1 of 3
- elementary schools in Rock Falls · Resource Index
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.9:1
- students per teacher
- 258
- students enrolled
Merrill Elem School has class sizes near the Illinois median. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Merrill Elem School ranks #1 of 3 elementary schools in Rock Falls, IL.
School address
District: Rock Falls Esd 13 · Illinois
NCES ID 173435003522 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.9:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
-8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Merrill Elem School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Merrill Elem School
Merrill Elem School is a mid-sized elementary school in Rock Falls, Illinois, enrolling 258 students.
At 12.9:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Illinois median, within a few percentage points of the 14:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Enrollment of 258 puts it in the smaller third of Illinois schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 3,845 scored Illinois schools.
Its student body is led by White (65%) and Hispanic or Latino (30%) (diversity index 48/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 258 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.0% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 19.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Among Rock Falls's elementary schools, it stands alongside Dillon Elementary School (278 students): Merrill Elem School is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (12.9:1 vs 13.2:1).
Rock Falls Esd 13 also operates Dillon Elementary School (278 students) and Rock Falls Middle School (246 students) alongside Merrill Elem 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 Merrill Elem School compares
Merrill Elem School on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.9:1 | ▼ 8% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 258 | top 72% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.9:1
Leaner classes than 68% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
258
Bigger than 26% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
12.9:1
students per teacher
- 8% below state mean
Top 41% in Illinois - lower ratio than 59% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,720
per pupil, district-wide
- above Illinois avg of $17,042
Somewhat above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 258 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
10
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.9 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.7 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
White 65.1%
Hispanic or Latino 30.2%
Two or More 3.1%
African American 1.2%
Asian 0.4%
Largest group: White at 65.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 48.4/100
Simpson diversity index - at 48.4, Merrill Elem School is more mixed than the Illinois school average of 38.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rock Falls Esd 13, which includes Merrill Elem School.
$17,720
Per student
+4%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
+7%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 22.3%
State 58.6%
Federal 19.1%
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 Merrill Elem School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dillon Elementary School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rock Falls Middle School | Similar size | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Riverdale Preschool Center | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Merrill Elem School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 278
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 246
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 145
- Students per teacher
- 36.3:1
- Resource Index
- 15/100
Similar elementary schools in Rock Falls
2 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 Illinois, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~258 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Merrill Elem School's federal record.
- Compare Merrill Elem School against another school. Compare schools
- Rock Falls Esd 13's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Merrill Elem School
How many students attend Merrill Elem School?
Merrill Elem School has 258 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Rock Falls, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Merrill Elem School?
The student-teacher ratio at Merrill Elem School is 12.9:1, which is 8% lower than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 18% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Merrill Elem School?
The largest demographic group at Merrill Elem School is White at 65.1% of enrollment, in Rock Falls, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Merrill Elem School?
Merrill Elem School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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 Merrill Elem School rank among elementary schools in Rock Falls?
By Resource Investment Index, Merrill Elem School ranks #1 of 3 elementary schools in Rock Falls, IL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Rock Falls on the city page.
Is Merrill Elem School a good school?
Merrill Elem School earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Illinois median. 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 Rock Falls Esd 13?
Besides Merrill Elem School, Rock Falls Esd 13 also operates Dillon Elementary School (278 students), Rock Falls Middle School (246 students), and Riverdale Preschool Center (145 students). See the Rock Falls Esd 13 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.