Enrollment
839
New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 340288001662
Sterling High School — Somerdale, NJ
Federal NCES profile for Sterling High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 49
📚 AP courses 40
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 66
📋 Attendance 71
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: Sterling Regional School District · New Jersey
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
12.8:1
vs 11.9:1 New Jersey avg
+8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.8%
vs 29.6% New Jersey avg
-16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sterling High School compares with New Jersey 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
Sterling High School reports 839 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 70.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% above the New Jersey state mean of 11.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 19% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 24.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 16% below the New Jersey average and 52% below the national baseline. The school offers 8 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 168 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Sterling Regional School District spends $25,798 per pupil district-wide, below the New Jersey average of $29,189 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 38.7% from local sources (property taxes), 55.3% from the state, and 6.0% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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 Sterling High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New Jersey state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs New Jersey | New Jersey avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.8:1 | ▲ 8% | 11.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.8% | ▼ 16% | 29.6% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 839 | top 86% | — | — |
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
24.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 16% below the New Jersey average of 29.6%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
12.8:1
students per teacher
— 8% above state mean
Top 75% in New Jersey — lower ratio than 25% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
11.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$25,798
per pupil, district-wide
— below New Jersey avg of $29,189
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 168 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
132
in-school suspensions + 31 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 15.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 19.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 839 Top 86% in New Jersey — larger than 14% of 2,509 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 70.0
Students per teacher 12.8:1 +8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 24.8% -16% vs state
NCES ID 340288001662
Student demographics
White 49.5%
Hispanic or Latino 21.8%
African American 19.5%
Two or More 4.9%
Asian 4.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: White at 49.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 8
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 168:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.7%
In-school suspensions 132
Out-of-school suspensions 31
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Sterling Regional School District, which includes Sterling High School.
$25,798
Per student
-12%
vs New Jersey
Avg $29,189
+32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 38.7%
State 55.3%
Federal 6.0%
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.
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 Sterling High School
How many students attend Sterling High School?
Sterling High School has 839 students enrolled. It is a high school in Somerdale, NJ.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sterling High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Sterling High School is 12.8:1, which is 8% higher than the New Jersey average of 11.9:1 and 19% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sterling High School?
24.8% of students at Sterling High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sterling High School?
The largest demographic group at Sterling High School is White at 49.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in Somerdale, NJ.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sterling High School?
Sterling High School has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (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.