Enrollment
62
Arizona · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 040004003343 Charter school
Step Up School — Mesa, AZ
Federal NCES profile for Step Up School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 30/100.
🌟 Gifted program 30
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 →
The verdict
Step Up School earns an F Resource Investment Index (30/100) on federal resource data.
- F
- Resource Index · 30/100
- 81.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 62
- students enrolled
School address
District: Step Up Schools Inc. (4313) · 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.
Free-lunch eligible
81.0%
vs 48.3% Arizona avg
+68% vs state
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
Step Up School reports 62 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 81.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 68% above the Arizona average and 56% above the national baseline.
On the finance side, the surrounding Step Up Schools Inc. (4313) spends $17,145 per pupil district-wide, above the Arizona average of $13,145 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 9.0% from local sources (property taxes), 53.2% from the state, and 37.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F), calculated from 1 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 Step Up 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 81.0% | ▲ 68% | 48.3% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 62 | top 13% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
62 larger than 7% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
81.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 68% above the Arizona average of 48.3%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Funding equity
$17,145
per pupil, district-wide
— above Arizona avg of $13,145
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 62 Top 13% in Arizona — larger than 87% of 2,186 state schools
Teachers (FTE) —
Students per teacher —
Free-lunch eligible 81.0% +68% vs state
NCES ID 040004003343
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 74.2%
African American 21.0%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 1.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 74.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Step Up Schools Inc. (4313), which includes Step Up School.
$17,145
Per student
+30%
vs Arizona
Avg $13,145
+3%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 9.0%
State 53.2%
Federal 37.8%
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 elementary schools in Mesa
3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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.
Before you act on this record
Treat this page as the federal baseline — then verify locally.
- Compare Step Up School side-by-side with another school you're considering on the same NCES measures. Compare schools
- Read the district context — spending per pupil, staffing, and equity ranking are district-level decisions that shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment windows, programs, and boundaries with the school directly — federal data lags the current school year. Choosing guide
Figures are the school's reported federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) — coverage varies by entity type, and PlainSchools does not rate or rank schools.
Frequently asked questions about Step Up School
How many students attend Step Up School?
Step Up School has 62 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Mesa, AZ.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Step Up School?
81.0% of students at Step Up School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Arizona average of 48.3%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Step Up School?
The largest demographic group at Step Up School is Hispanic or Latino at 74.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in Mesa, AZ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Step Up School?
Step Up School has a Resource Investment Index of 30/100 (F) based on 1 factor: student-teacher ratio. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
Is Step Up School a good school?
Step Up School earns an F Resource Investment Index (30/100) on federal resource data. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating. Limited indicators were available for this school, so the picture is partial.