Enrollment
97
North Dakota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 381850000640
Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School — Turtle Lake, ND
Federal NCES profile for Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 55/100.
👥 Class size 58
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 61
📋 Attendance 72
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
Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School earns a C Resource Investment Index (55/100), with class sizes near the North Dakota median.
- C
- Resource Index · 55/100
- 10.5:1
- students per teacher
- 19.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 97
- students enrolled
School address
District: Turtle Lake-Mercer 72 · North Dakota
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)
10.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.5:1
vs 11.7:1 North Dakota avg
-10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
19.0%
vs 28.2% North Dakota avg
-33% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School compares with North Dakota 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
Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School reports 97 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 10.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% below the North Dakota state mean of 11.7:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 33% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 19.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 33% below the North Dakota average and 63% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 194 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 11.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Turtle Lake-Mercer 72 spends $18,153 per pupil district-wide, below the North Dakota average of $18,450 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 41.3% from local sources (property taxes), 44.6% from the state, and 14.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C), calculated from 4 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 Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against North Dakota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs North Dakota | North Dakota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.5:1 | ▼ 10% | 11.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 19.0% | ▼ 33% | 28.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 97 | top 34% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
11 Among the smallest classes smaller classes than 88% of 92,598 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
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
97 larger than 10% 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
19.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 33% below the North Dakota average of 28.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.5:1
students per teacher
— 10% below state mean
Top 40% in North Dakota — lower ratio than 60% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
11.3%
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
$18,153
per pupil, district-wide
— below North Dakota avg of $18,450
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.5 FTE
Per 194 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 97 Top 34% in North Dakota — larger than 66% of 499 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 10.0
Students per teacher 10.5:1 -10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 19.0% -33% vs state
NCES ID 381850000640
Student demographics
White 92.8%
Two or More 4.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 2.1%
African American 1.0%
Largest group: White at 92.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.5
Students per counselor 194:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 11.3%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Turtle Lake-Mercer 72, which includes Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School.
$18,153
Per student
-2%
vs North Dakota
Avg $18,450
+9%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 41.3%
State 44.6%
Federal 14.1%
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
- 85
- Students per teacher
- 5.8:1
Similar other schools in Turtle Lake
1 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School
How many students attend Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School?
Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School has 97 students enrolled. It is a other school in Turtle Lake, ND.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School is 10.5:1, which is 10% lower than the North Dakota average of 11.7:1 and 33% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School?
19.0% of students at Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the North Dakota average of 28.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School is White at 92.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Turtle Lake, ND.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School?
Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 55/100 (C) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.
Is Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School a good school?
Turtle Lake-Mercer Elementary School earns a C Resource Investment Index (55/100), with class sizes near the North Dakota median. 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.