Enrollment
660
Massachusetts · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Palmer, MA
Pathfinder Vocational Technical
Federal NCES profile for Pathfinder Vocational Technical, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 250931002285
👥 S:T ratio 61
📚 AP courses 60
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 74
📋 Attendance 35
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Pathfinder Vocational Technical earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of Massachusetts schools.
- #1 of 3
- public schools in Palmer · Resource Index
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 9.7:1
- small classes for Massachusetts
- 660
- students enrolled
Pathfinder Vocational Technical has class sizes smaller than 83% of Massachusetts schools. Computed live against every Massachusetts school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Pathfinder Vocational Technical ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Palmer, MA.
School address
NCES ID 250931002285 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
68.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.7:1
vs 12.3:1 Massachusetts avg
-21% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Pathfinder Vocational Technical compares with Massachusetts and U.S. medians
What stands out at Pathfinder Vocational Technical
Pathfinder Vocational Technical is a mid-sized high school in Palmer, Massachusetts, enrolling 660 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 9.7:1 puts it in the smaller third of Massachusetts schools by student-teacher ratio.
Enrollment of 660 puts it in the larger third of Massachusetts schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 1,831 scored Massachusetts schools.
Its student body is predominantly White (83% of enrollment) (diversity index 29/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 12 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 132 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.2% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical operates only this one school, so Pathfinder Vocational Technical has no district-mates to compare against locally.
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 Pathfinder Vocational Technical compares
Pathfinder Vocational Technical on the metrics families compare, against Massachusetts and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Massachusetts | Massachusetts avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.7:1 | ▼ 21% | 12.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 660 | top 21% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
9.7:1
Leaner classes than 90% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
660
Bigger than 78% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
9.7:1
students per teacher
- 21% below state mean
Top 17% in Massachusetts - lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
26.2%
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
$26,529
per pupil, district-wide
- above Massachusetts avg of $22,458
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 132 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 40 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.1 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 83.3%
Hispanic or Latino 10.9%
Two or More 3.8%
African American 1.4%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 83.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 29.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 29.3, Pathfinder Vocational Technical is less mixed than the Massachusetts school average of 47.3.
Programs
AP courses offered 12
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical, which includes Pathfinder Vocational Technical.
$26,529
Per student
+18%
vs Massachusetts
Avg $22,458
+60%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 44.8%
State 46.9%
Federal 8.2%
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 high schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Massachusetts, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~660 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Pathfinder Vocational Technical's federal record.
- Compare Pathfinder Vocational Technical against another school. Compare schools
- Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical'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 Pathfinder Vocational Technical
How many students attend Pathfinder Vocational Technical?
Pathfinder Vocational Technical has 660 students enrolled. It is a high school in Palmer, MA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pathfinder Vocational Technical?
The student-teacher ratio at Pathfinder Vocational Technical is 9.7:1, which is 21% lower than the Massachusetts average of 12.3:1 and 38% 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 Pathfinder Vocational Technical?
The largest demographic group at Pathfinder Vocational Technical is White at 83.3% of enrollment, in Palmer, MA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Pathfinder Vocational Technical?
Pathfinder Vocational Technical has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Pathfinder Vocational Technical rank among public schools in Palmer?
By Resource Investment Index, Pathfinder Vocational Technical ranks #1 of 3 public schools in Palmer, MA. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Palmer on the city page.
Is Pathfinder Vocational Technical a good school?
Pathfinder Vocational Technical earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 83% of Massachusetts schools. 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 Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical?
None reported; Pathfinder Regional Vocational Technical operates only Pathfinder Vocational Technical as a public school district in NCES's records.
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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.