Enrollment
616
Alaska · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 020051000227
Palmer High School — Palmer, AK
Federal NCES profile for Palmer High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 28
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 59
📋 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: Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District · Alaska
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
18.1:1
vs 20:1 Alaska avg
-9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
28.6%
vs 61.5% Alaska avg
-53% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palmer High School compares with Alaska 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
Palmer High School reports 616 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 42.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 18.1:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 9% below the Alaska state mean of 20:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 14% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 28.6% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 53% below the Alaska average and 45% below the national baseline. The school offers 2 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 205 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 80.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District spends $18,753 per pupil district-wide, below the Alaska average of $36,093 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 22.6% from local sources (property taxes), 62.7% from the state, and 14.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F), calculated from 5 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 Palmer High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Alaska state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Alaska | Alaska avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 18.1:1 | ▼ 9% | 20:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 28.6% | ▼ 53% | 61.5% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 616 | top 93% | — | — |
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
28.6%
free-lunch eligible
— 53% below the Alaska average of 61.5%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
18.1:1
students per teacher
— 9% below state mean
Top 76% in Alaska — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
80.7%
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
$18,753
per pupil, district-wide
— below Alaska avg of $36,093
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 205 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 46 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 8.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 616 Top 93% in Alaska — larger than 7% of 496 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 42.0
Students per teacher 18.1:1 -9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 28.6% -53% vs state
NCES ID 020051000227
Student demographics
White 67.0%
Two or More 11.9%
Hispanic or Latino 10.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 8.4%
African American 0.8%
Asian 0.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.8%
Largest group: White at 67.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 2
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 3.0
Students per counselor 205:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 80.7%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 46
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, which includes Palmer High School.
$18,753
Per student
-48%
vs Alaska
Avg $36,093
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 22.6%
State 62.7%
Federal 14.7%
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
- 2,780
- Students per teacher
- 98:1
- Enrollment
- 1,046
- Students per teacher
- 20.3:1
- Enrollment
- 816
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 771
- Students per teacher
- 20.4:1
- Enrollment
- 705
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
Similar high schools in Palmer
2 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 Palmer High School
How many students attend Palmer High School?
Palmer High School has 616 students enrolled. It is a high school in Palmer, AK.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palmer High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Palmer High School is 18.1:1, which is 9% lower than the Alaska average of 20:1 and 14% 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 Palmer High School?
28.6% of students at Palmer High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Alaska average of 61.5%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palmer High School?
The largest demographic group at Palmer High School is White at 67.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in Palmer, AK.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palmer High School?
Palmer High School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F) based on 5 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.