Enrollment
1,326
Pennsylvania · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 422448003395
Upper Merion Hs — King of Prussia, PA
Federal NCES profile for Upper Merion Hs, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 59/100.
👥 Class size 42
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 38
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: Upper Merion Area 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)
93.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.5:1
vs 13.5:1 Pennsylvania avg
+7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
34.9%
vs 58.1% Pennsylvania avg
-40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Upper Merion Hs 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
Upper Merion Hs reports 1,326 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 93.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 7% 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 9% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 34.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 40% below the Pennsylvania average and 33% below the national baseline. The school offers 20 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 265 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 24.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Upper Merion Area Sd spends $41,254 per pupil district-wide, above the Pennsylvania average of $22,745 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 81.4% from local sources (property taxes), 13.8% from the state, and 4.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (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 Upper Merion Hs 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 | 14.5:1 | ▲ 7% | 13.5:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 34.9% | ▼ 40% | 58.1% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,326 | top 95% | — | — |
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
34.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 40% 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
14.5:1
students per teacher
— 7% above state mean
Top 68% in Pennsylvania — lower ratio than 32% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
24.7%
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
$41,254
per pupil, district-wide
— above Pennsylvania avg of $22,745
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 265 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
89
in-school suspensions + 104 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 14.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,326 Top 95% in Pennsylvania — larger than 5% of 2,930 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 93.0
Students per teacher 14.5:1 +7% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 34.9% -40% vs state
NCES ID 422448003395
Student demographics
White 43.5%
Hispanic or Latino 19.5%
African American 15.8%
Asian 13.3%
Two or More 7.8%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 43.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 20
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 265:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 24.7%
In-school suspensions 89
Out-of-school suspensions 104
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Upper Merion Area Sd, which includes Upper Merion Hs.
$41,254
Per student
+81%
vs Pennsylvania
Avg $22,745
+112%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 81.4%
State 13.8%
Federal 4.7%
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
- 1,348
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 440
- Students per teacher
- 10.7:1
- Enrollment
- 372
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Enrollment
- 313
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Enrollment
- 292
- Students per teacher
- 12.4:1
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 Upper Merion Hs
How many students attend Upper Merion Hs?
Upper Merion Hs has 1,326 students enrolled. It is a high school in King of Prussia, PA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Upper Merion Hs?
The student-teacher ratio at Upper Merion Hs is 14.5:1, which is 7% higher than the Pennsylvania average of 13.5:1 and 9% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Upper Merion Hs?
34.9% of students at Upper Merion Hs are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Pennsylvania average of 58.1%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Upper Merion Hs?
The largest demographic group at Upper Merion Hs is White at 43.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in King of Prussia, PA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Upper Merion Hs?
Upper Merion Hs has a Resource Investment Index of 59/100 (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.