Enrollment
1,442
New York · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 362820003809
Ward Melville Senior High School — East Setauket, NY
Federal NCES profile for Ward Melville Senior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 69/100.
👥 Class size 57
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 76
📋 Attendance 81
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
Ward Melville Senior High School earns a B- Resource Investment Index (69/100), with class sizes near the New York median.
- B-
- Resource Index · 69/100
- 10.8:1
- students per teacher
- 13.8%
- free-lunch eligible
- 1,442
- students enrolled
School address
District: Three Village Central School District · New York
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)
140.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.8:1
vs 11.7:1 New York avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.8%
vs 56.2% New York avg
-75% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ward Melville Senior High School compares with New York 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
Ward Melville Senior High School reports 1,442 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 140.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 10.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the New York 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 31% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 13.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 75% below the New York average and 73% below the national baseline. The school offers 25 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 120 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 7.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Three Village Central School District spends $36,330 per pupil district-wide, above the New York average of $26,410 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 71.7% from local sources (property taxes), 25.5% from the state, and 2.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 69/100 (B-), 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 Ward Melville Senior High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against New York 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 York | New York avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 10.8:1 | ▼ 8% | 11.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.8% | ▼ 75% | 56.2% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,442 | top 97% | — | — |
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 86% 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')
1,442 larger than 96% 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
13.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 75% below the New York average of 56.2%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
10.8:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 39% in New York — lower ratio than 61% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
7.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$36,330
per pupil, district-wide
— above New York avg of $26,410
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors12.0 FTE
Per 120 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
48
in-school suspensions + 35 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,442 Top 97% in New York — larger than 3% of 4,812 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 140.0
Students per teacher 10.8:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 13.8% -75% vs state
NCES ID 362820003809
Student demographics
White 69.2%
Asian 15.8%
Hispanic or Latino 9.8%
Two or More 2.6%
African American 2.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 69.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 25
Counselors (FTE) 12.0
Students per counselor 120:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 7.6%
In-school suspensions 48
Out-of-school suspensions 35
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Three Village Central School District, which includes Ward Melville Senior High School.
$36,330
Per student
+38%
vs New York
Avg $26,410
+119%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 71.7%
State 25.5%
Federal 2.8%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 655
- Students per teacher
- 10.4:1
- Enrollment
- 651
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
- Enrollment
- 644
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 599
- Students per teacher
- 11.8:1
- Enrollment
- 562
- Students per teacher
- 10.4:1
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 Ward Melville Senior High School
How many students attend Ward Melville Senior High School?
Ward Melville Senior High School has 1,442 students enrolled. It is a high school in East Setauket, NY.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ward Melville Senior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Ward Melville Senior High School is 10.8:1, which is 8% lower than the New York average of 11.7:1 and 31% 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 Ward Melville Senior High School?
13.8% of students at Ward Melville Senior High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New York average of 56.2%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ward Melville Senior High School?
The largest demographic group at Ward Melville Senior High School is White at 69.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in East Setauket, NY.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ward Melville Senior High School?
Ward Melville Senior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 69/100 (B-) 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.
Is Ward Melville Senior High School a good school?
Ward Melville Senior High School earns a B- Resource Investment Index (69/100), with class sizes near the New York 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.