Middle school (grades 6-8) · Mesquite, TX

Berry Middle

Federal NCES profile for Berry Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.

2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 483039007579
0/100100/10041/100
👥 S:T ratio
43
🌟 Gifted program
70
🎓 Counselors
0
📋 Attendance
50
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Berry Middle earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.

#8 of 10
middle schools in Mesquite · Resource Index
41
Resource Index · Typical
14.3:1
students per teacher
74.3%
free-lunch eligible

Berry Middle has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Berry Middle ranks #8 of 10 middle schools in Mesquite, TX.

School address

Enrollment

599

Texas · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

42.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

14.3:1

vs 14.7:1 Texas avg

-3% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

74.3%

vs 61.9% Texas avg

+20% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Berry Middle compares with Texas and U.S. medians

At or below 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 Berry Middle

Berry Middle is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Mesquite, Texas, enrolling 599 students.

At 14.3:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Texas median, within a few percentage points of the 14.7:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.

Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 74.3% of students eligible for free meals.

With 599 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 8,960 scored Texas schools.

Against 2,069 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #876.

Its student body is led by African American (50%) and Hispanic or Latino (36%) (diversity index 61/100).

Counselor access is stretched at roughly 503 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.

Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.

Discipline events run high: 209 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 599 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.

Mesquite Isd also operates Horn H S (2,757 students) and Mesquite H S (2,294 students) alongside Berry Middle.

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 Berry Middle compares

Berry Middle on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs Texas Texas avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 14.3:1 ▼ 3% 14.7:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 74.3% ▲ 20% 61.9% 51.7%
Enrollment 599 top 37% - -

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

14.3:1
Leaner classes than 54% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
599
Bigger than 72% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
74.3%
free-lunch eligible - 20% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
14.3:1
students per teacher - 3% below state mean
Top 51% in Texas - lower ratio than 49% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
20.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$11,612
per pupil, district-wide - below Texas avg of $13,644
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.2 FTE
Per 503 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
154
in-school suspensions + 55 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 25.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 34.9 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

African American 50.3%
Hispanic or Latino 35.7%
White 8.5%
Two or More 2.2%
Asian 1.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 1.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%

Largest group: African American at 50.3% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 61.1/100

Simpson diversity index - at 61.1, Berry Middle is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.

Programs

Gifted & talented Yes

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mesquite Isd, which includes Berry Middle.

$11,612
Per student
-15%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 30.4%
State 54.7%
Federal 14.9%

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 Berry Middle Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Horn H S Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Mesquite H S Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
North Mesquite H S Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
West Mesquite H S Larger Similar economic need Similar S:T ratio
Vroonland - Vanguard H S Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Berry Middle's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Mesquite Isd · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar middle schools statewide

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

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Berry Middle'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 Berry Middle

How many students attend Berry Middle?

Berry Middle has 599 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Mesquite, TX.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Berry Middle?

The student-teacher ratio at Berry Middle is 14.3:1, which is 3% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 9% 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 Berry Middle?

74.3% of students at Berry Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Berry Middle?

The largest demographic group at Berry Middle is African American at 50.3% of enrollment, in Mesquite, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 61.1/100.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Berry Middle?

Berry Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).

How does Berry Middle rank among middle schools in Mesquite?

By Resource Investment Index, Berry Middle ranks #8 of 10 middle schools in Mesquite, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Mesquite on the city page.

Is Berry Middle a good school?

Berry Middle earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. 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 Mesquite Isd?

Besides Berry Middle, Mesquite Isd also operates Horn H S (2,757 students), Mesquite H S (2,294 students), and North Mesquite H S (2,099 students). See the Mesquite Isd 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.

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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.