Enrollment
460
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 481128000602
Alton El — Brenham, TX
Federal NCES profile for Alton El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 51
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 8
📋 Attendance 62
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: Brenham Isd · Texas
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)
38.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.3:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
53.7%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-13% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Alton El compares with Texas 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
Alton El reports 460 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 38.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 16% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 23% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 53.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 13% below the Texas average and 4% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 460 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 15.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Brenham Isd spends $12,704 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 57.3% from local sources (property taxes), 23.1% from the state, and 19.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), 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 Alton El compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Texas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.3:1 | ▼ 16% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 53.7% | ▼ 13% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 460 | top 45% | — | — |
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
53.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 13% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.3:1
students per teacher
— 16% below state mean
Top 21% in Texas — lower ratio than 79% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
15.4%
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
$12,704
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 460 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
28
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 6.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 460 Top 45% in Texas — larger than 55% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 38.0
Students per teacher 12.3:1 -16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 53.7% -13% vs state
NCES ID 481128000602
Student demographics
White 42.0%
Hispanic or Latino 33.5%
African American 18.9%
Two or More 4.8%
Asian 0.9%
Largest group: White at 42.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 460:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 15.4%
In-school suspensions 28
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Brenham Isd, which includes Alton El.
$12,704
Per student
-26%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 57.3%
State 23.1%
Federal 19.6%
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
- 1,544
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Enrollment
- 756
- Students per teacher
- 11.9:1
- Enrollment
- 703
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 655
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Enrollment
- 512
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
Similar elementary schools in Brenham
3 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) 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 Alton El
How many students attend Alton El?
Alton El has 460 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in BRENHAM, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alton El?
The student-teacher ratio at Alton El is 12.3:1, which is 16% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 23% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Alton El?
53.7% of students at Alton El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Alton El?
The largest demographic group at Alton El is White at 42.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in BRENHAM, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Alton El?
Alton El has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) 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.