Cumberland Valley HS

Mechanicsburg · PA · Cumberland Valley SD · Public


AP rigor: Top 3.7% nationally 22 AP courses 96% 4-yr grad rate

A parent's read

  • 96% graduate on time. Nearly every student who starts 9th grade here finishes in four years — the strongest baseline signal a school can post.
  • Course rigor in the top 4% of US high schools. 22 AP courses plus advanced math and lab-science depth — measured against every high school in the country, not just the neighborhood.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

At a glance

Programs & features
  • 22 AP courses offered — Elite
  • Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • Gifted & talented program
  • 20 calculus classes · 15 physics · 46 chemistry
Academic signals
  • AP rigor: Top 3.7% of US high schools
  • SAT/ACT participation: Top 2.6% by test-taker volume
  • 4-yr grad rate: 96% in 2019 (82nd percentile nationally)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

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How Cumberland Valley HS compares for families

Among the nation's most academically rigorous high schools.

  • ▸ StatewideAP rigor sits in the top 3.7% of US high schools with 22 AP courses.
  • ▸ LocallyPA students outperform the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math (+4 points).
  • ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Mechanicsburg Area SHS, Carlisle Area HS, Cedar Cliff HS and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

Top 3.7% of US high schools

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
22
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
659
≈21 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
33
20 calculus · 13 advanced
Lab science classes
61
15 physics · 46 chemistry
Other rigor signals
Dual-enrollment program
Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

Top 2.6% by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
774
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
24.5
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

82nd percentile nationally

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
96%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
662
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

‍ Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
11.7%
Typical mix. Watch the trend — high turnover can compound.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
39.0%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

Federal Title I context

Mixed-income school

Below Title I eligibility threshold (FRPL < 35%)

28.2%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

25-34% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Below the federal Title I threshold but a meaningful share of the population is income-eligible for free lunch.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

Your state's public flagship

Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

54%
admit rate
$20,644
in-state tuition/yr · $41,790 out-of-state
1220–1400
SAT 25–75 · ACT 27–32

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $32,875/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
10.4%
Roughly average. The national post-COVID rate climbed to ~16% nationwide; this school is in the middle of the pack.
Students absent 15+ days
307
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2021 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
395:1
Around the US median. Counselors are stretched but functional.
Counselor FTE
8.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
152
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 733 in 2021 to 794 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+8.3%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +2.4%/year, projecting from 2024's 3,163 students:

2025
3,239
2027
3,398
2029
3,564

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $16,158 per student in district revenue, the 401 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $6,479,358/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Mechanicsburg Area SHS
Mechanicsburg
Public 3.4 1,412 +12.7%
Carlisle Area HS
Carlisle
Public 8.0 1,559 +1.7%
Cedar Cliff HS
Camp Hill
Public 8.7 1,333 -1.1%
Central Dauphin SHS
Harrisburg
Public 17.7 1,966 +4.9%
Central Dauphin East SHS
Harrisburg
Public 14.1 1,573 +2.2%
Harrisburg HS
Harrisburg
Public 11.5 1,342 +13.1%
Northern HS
Dillsburg
Public 10.1 982 -7.5%
Red Land SHS
Lewisberry
Public 12.1 1,061 -2.7%

At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Cumberland Valley HS is a public high school in Mechanicsburg, PA, enrolling 3,163 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Enrollment is up 8% from 2021 to 2024.

It offers 22 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 96% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

774 students took the SAT or ACT in the most recent federal count, a participation level above 97% of U.S. high schools.

Its federal four-year graduation rate was about 96% in the latest EDFacts release.

It has about 395 students per school counselor.

10% of its students were chronically absent in 2020.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (enrollment), the federal Civil Rights Data Collection and EDFacts, state education agencies where named, and the school's own published documents where named.

Questions families ask

How many AP courses does Cumberland Valley HS offer? Cumberland Valley HS offers 22 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 96% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

What is Cumberland Valley HS's graduation rate? Cumberland Valley HS's federal four-year graduation rate was about 96% in the latest EDFacts release.

How many students attend Cumberland Valley HS? Cumberland Valley HS is a public high school in Mechanicsburg, PA, enrolling 3,163 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

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