High school (grades 9-12) · Scotch Plains, NJ

Union County Tech

Federal NCES profile for Union County Tech, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.

2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 341804005738
0/100100/10056/100
👥 S:T ratio
13
📚 AP courses
85
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
67
📋 Attendance
86
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Union County Tech earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of New Jersey schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most New Jersey schools.

#6 of 7
high schools in Scotch Plains · Resource Index
56
Resource Index · Higher
21.8:1
large classes for New Jersey
11.2%
free-lunch eligible

Union County Tech has class sizes larger than 99% of New Jersey schools. Computed live against every New Jersey school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Union County Tech ranks #6 of 7 high schools in Scotch Plains, NJ.

Enrollment

502

New Jersey · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

23.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

21.8:1

vs 11.8:1 New Jersey avg

+85% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

11.2%

vs 29.6% New Jersey avg

-62% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Union County Tech compares with New Jersey and U.S. medians

Larger classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Union County Tech

Union County Tech is a lower-poverty, mid-sized high school in Scotch Plains, New Jersey, enrolling 502 students.

Class loads run heavy: 21.8:1 is larger than about 99% of New Jersey schools and 85% above the 11.8:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.

Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 11.2% of students eligible for free meals.

With 502 students, its enrollment sits close to the New Jersey median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 2,501 scored New Jersey schools.

Against 707 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #499.

Its student body is led by White (37%) and Hispanic or Latino (32%), more mixed than most schools in the state (diversity index 72/100).

On the academic-pipeline side it reports 17 Advanced Placement courses.

Counselor coverage is strong, about 167 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Attendance holds up well here: only 5.8% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.

Among Scotch Plains's high schools, it stands alongside Union County Career & Technical Institute (67 students): Union County Tech is larger than that campus by headcount and runs heavier classes (21.8:1 vs 3.5:1).

Union County Vocational-Technical School District also operates Academy for Allied Health Sciences (308 students) and Academy for Information Technology (307 students) alongside Union County Tech.

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 Union County Tech compares

Union County Tech on the metrics families compare, against New Jersey and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs New Jersey New Jersey avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 21.8:1 ▲ 85% 11.8:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 11.2% ▼ 62% 29.6% 51.7%
Enrollment 502 top 39% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

21.8:1
Leaner classes than 11% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
502
Bigger than 62% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
11.2%
free-lunch eligible - 62% 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
21.8:1
students per teacher - 85% above state mean
Top 99% in New Jersey - lower ratio than 1% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
5.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$21,224
per pupil, district-wide - below New Jersey avg of $24,984
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 167 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.4 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 37.2%
Hispanic or Latino 32.0%
African American 15.2%
Asian 11.0%
Two or More 4.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: White at 37.2% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 72.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 72.2, Union County Tech is more mixed than the New Jersey school average of 51.2.

Programs

AP courses offered 17

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Union County Vocational-Technical School District, which includes Union County Tech.

$21,224
Per student
-15%
vs New Jersey
Avg $24,984
+28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 51.8%
State 43.9%
Federal 4.3%

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.

How Union County Tech Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Academy for Allied Health Sciences Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Academy for Information Technology Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Union County Magnet High School Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Academy for Performing Arts Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio
Union County Career & Technical Institute Smaller Similar economic need Lower S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Union County Tech's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Union County Vocational-Technical School District · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar high schools in Scotch Plains

1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.

Similar high schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Jersey, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Union County Tech's federal record.

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 Union County Tech

How many students attend Union County Tech?

Union County Tech has 502 students enrolled. It is a high school in Scotch Plains, NJ.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Union County Tech?

The student-teacher ratio at Union County Tech is 21.8:1, which is 85% higher than the New Jersey average of 11.8:1 and 39% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.

What percentage of students receive free lunch at Union County Tech?

11.2% of students at Union County Tech are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Jersey average of 29.6%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Union County Tech?

The largest demographic group at Union County Tech is White at 37.2% of enrollment, in Scotch Plains, NJ. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 72.2/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Union County Tech?

Union County Tech has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (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 Union County Tech rank among high schools in Scotch Plains?

By Resource Investment Index, Union County Tech ranks #6 of 7 high schools in Scotch Plains, NJ. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all high schools in Scotch Plains on the city page.

Is Union County Tech a good school?

Union County Tech earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 99% of New Jersey schools. It is also more racially and ethnically mixed than most New Jersey 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 Union County Vocational-Technical School District?

Besides Union County Tech, Union County Vocational-Technical School District also operates Academy for Allied Health Sciences (308 students), Academy for Information Technology (307 students), and Union County Magnet High School (297 students). See the Union County Vocational-Technical School District district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

View saved

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.