Enrollment
518
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 040757001562
Mountainside Middle School — Scottsdale, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Mountainside Middle School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 42/100.
👥 Class size 29
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 48
📋 Attendance 20
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: Scottsdale Unified District (4240) · Arizona
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)
31.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.7:1
vs 17.7:1 Arizona avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
6.9%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
-86% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mountainside Middle School compares with Arizona 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
Mountainside Middle School reports 518 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 31.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 0% above the Arizona state mean of 17.7:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 11% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 6.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 86% below the Arizona average and 87% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 259 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 32.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Scottsdale Unified District (4240) spends $12,713 per pupil district-wide, below the Arizona average of $15,070 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 68.5% from local sources (property taxes), 19.1% from the state, and 12.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D), 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 Mountainside Middle School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Arizona state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Arizona | Arizona avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.7:1 | ▼ 0% | 17.7:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 6.9% | ▼ 86% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 518 | top 63% | — | — |
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
6.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 86% below the Arizona average of 48.3%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.7:1
students per teacher
— 0% above state mean
Top 53% in Arizona — lower ratio than 47% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
32.0%
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
$12,713
per pupil, district-wide
— below Arizona avg of $15,070
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 259 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
29
in-school suspensions + 57 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 518 Top 63% in Arizona — larger than 37% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 31.0
Students per teacher 17.7:1 +0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 6.9% -86% vs state
NCES ID 040757001562
Student demographics
White 71.2%
Hispanic or Latino 10.8%
Asian 8.3%
African American 4.6%
Two or More 3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: White at 71.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 259:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 32.0%
In-school suspensions 29
Out-of-school suspensions 57
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Scottsdale Unified District (4240), which includes Mountainside Middle School.
$12,713
Per student
-16%
vs Arizona
Avg $15,070
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 68.5%
State 19.1%
Federal 12.5%
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
- 1,905
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,773
- Students per teacher
- 22.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,679
- Students per teacher
- 22.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,300
- Students per teacher
- 21.6:1
- Enrollment
- 953
- Students per teacher
- 19.1:1
Similar middle schools in Scottsdale
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Cocopah Middle School
Standard public school
861 students 20.6:1 students per teacher
Desert Shadows Middle School
Standard public school
791 students 20.5:1 students per teacher
Mohave Middle School
Standard public school
753 students 6.7:1 students per teacher
Desert Canyon Middle School
Standard public school
423 students 16.9:1 students per teacher
Tonalea Middle School
Standard public school
393 students 14.7:1 students per teacher
Sunrise Middle School
Standard public school
390 students 14.4:1 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 Mountainside Middle School
How many students attend Mountainside Middle School?
Mountainside Middle School has 518 students enrolled. It is a middle school in SCOTTSDALE, AZ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mountainside Middle School?
The student-teacher ratio at Mountainside Middle School is 17.7:1, which is 0% higher than the Arizona average of 17.7:1 and 11% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Mountainside Middle School?
6.9% of students at Mountainside Middle School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mountainside Middle School?
The largest demographic group at Mountainside Middle School is White at 71.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in SCOTTSDALE, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mountainside Middle School?
Mountainside Middle School has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.