Enrollment
958
Utah · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 490003000074
Mountain Ridge Jr High — Highland, UT
Federal NCES profile for Mountain Ridge Jr High, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 38/100.
👥 Class size 0
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 47
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: Alpine District · 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)
42.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
25.5:1
vs 23.1:1 Utah avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
8.7%
vs 28.0% Utah avg
-69% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mountain Ridge Jr High 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
Mountain Ridge Jr High reports 958 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 42.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 25.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% above the Utah state mean of 23.1:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 60% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 8.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 69% below the Utah average and 83% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 319 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 21.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Alpine District spends $9,402 per pupil district-wide, below the Utah average of $12,354 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 36.4% from local sources (property taxes), 51.6% from the state, and 12.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Mountain Ridge Jr High 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 | 25.5:1 | ▲ 10% | 23.1:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 8.7% | ▼ 69% | 28.0% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 958 | top 84% | — | — |
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
8.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 69% 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
25.5:1
students per teacher
— 10% above state mean
Top 85% in Utah — lower ratio than 15% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
21.3%
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
$9,402
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
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 319 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 958 Top 84% in Utah — larger than 16% of 1,068 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 42.0
Students per teacher 25.5:1 +10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 8.7% -69% vs state
NCES ID 490003000074
Student demographics
White 86.7%
Hispanic or Latino 7.0%
Two or More 3.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 1.3%
Asian 0.8%
African American 0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 86.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 1
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 319:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 21.3%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alpine District, which includes Mountain Ridge Jr High.
$9,402
Per student
-24%
vs Utah
Avg $12,354
-52%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 36.4%
State 51.6%
Federal 12.0%
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
- 3,300
- Students per teacher
- 28.4:1
- Enrollment
- 3,052
- Students per teacher
- 27.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,484
- Students per teacher
- 28.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,483
- Students per teacher
- 27.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,316
- Students per teacher
- 27.1:1
Similar other schools in Highland
3 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Mountain Ridge Jr High
How many students attend Mountain Ridge Jr High?
Mountain Ridge Jr High has 958 students enrolled. It is a other school in HIGHLAND, UT.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mountain Ridge Jr High?
The student-teacher ratio at Mountain Ridge Jr High is 25.5:1, which is 10% higher than the Utah average of 23.1:1 and 60% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mountain Ridge Jr High?
8.7% of students at Mountain Ridge Jr High are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Utah average of 28.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mountain Ridge Jr High?
The largest demographic group at Mountain Ridge Jr High is White at 86.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in HIGHLAND, UT.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mountain Ridge Jr High?
Mountain Ridge Jr High has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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.