Enrollment
1,220
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 421935000435
Plum Shs — Plum, PA
Federal NCES profile for Plum Shs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 30
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 39
📋 Attendance 40
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: Plum Borough Sd · Pennsylvania
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)
70.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.5:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
+30% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.8%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-68% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Plum Shs compares with Pennsylvania 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
Plum Shs reports 1,220 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 70.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 17.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 30% above the Pennsylvania state mean of 13.5:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 10% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 68% below the Pennsylvania average and 64% below the national baseline. The school offers 22 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 305 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Plum Borough Sd spends $17,943 per pupil district-wide, below the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 54.8% from local sources (property taxes), 39.4% from the state, and 5.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C), 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 Plum Shs compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Pennsylvania state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 17.5:1 | ▲ 30% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.8% | ▼ 68% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,220 | top 94% | — | — |
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
18.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 68% below the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
17.5:1
students per teacher
— 30% above state mean
Top 94% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 6% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
24.0%
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
$17,943
per pupil, district-wide
— below Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors4.0 FTE
Per 305 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
61
in-school suspensions + 58 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 4 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 1,220 Top 94% in Pennsylvania — larger than 6% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 70.0
Students per teacher 17.5:1 +30% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.8% -68% vs state
NCES ID 421935000435
Student demographics
White 85.2%
African American 6.3%
Two or More 5.2%
Hispanic or Latino 2.2%
Asian 1.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 85.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 22
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 4.0
Students per counselor 305:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.0%
In-school suspensions 61
Out-of-school suspensions 58
Expulsions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Plum Borough Sd, which includes Plum Shs.
$17,943
Per student
-21%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 54.8%
State 39.4%
Federal 5.7%
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
- 740
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Enrollment
- 550
- Students per teacher
- 17.4:1
- Enrollment
- 513
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 512
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
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 Plum Shs
How many students attend Plum Shs?
Plum Shs has 1,220 students enrolled. It is a high school in Plum, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Plum Shs?
The student-teacher ratio at Plum Shs is 17.5:1, which is 30% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 10% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Plum Shs?
18.8% of students at Plum Shs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Plum Shs?
The largest demographic group at Plum Shs is White at 85.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Plum, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Plum Shs?
Plum Shs has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C) 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.