Enrollment
655
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Houston, TX
Best El
Federal NCES profile for Best El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 480783021293
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 35
📋 Attendance 24
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Best El earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Texas schools.
- #20 of 114
- elementary schools in Houston · Resource Index
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.4:1
- small classes for Texas
- 89.3%
- free-lunch eligible
Best El has class sizes smaller than 73% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Best El ranks #20 of 114 elementary schools in Houston, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
53.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
89.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Best El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Best El
Best El is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Houston, Texas, enrolling 655 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 89.3% of students qualify for free meals, 44% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 655 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,868 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #301.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 25/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 328 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 30.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 25.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Alief Isd also operates Elsik H S (4,057 students) and Hastings H S (3,786 students) alongside Best El.
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 Best El compares
Best El on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.4:1 | ▼ 16% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 89.3% | ▲ 44% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 655 | top 31% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
655
Bigger than 77% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
89.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 44% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 27% in Texas - lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
30.4%
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
$13,241
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 328 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
13
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.0 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
Hispanic or Latino 86.0%
African American 9.6%
White 2.3%
Asian 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 86.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 25.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 25.0, Best El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alief Isd, which includes Best El.
$13,241
Per student
-3%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.8%
State 39.8%
Federal 25.3%
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 Best El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elsik H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hastings H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Taylor H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| O'donnell Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Budewig Int | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Best El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,057
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 3,786
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 2,838
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 1,214
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 1,054
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
Similar elementary 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.
Similar enrollment (~655 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Best El's federal record.
- Compare Best El against another school. Compare schools
- Alief Isd's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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 Best El
How many students attend Best El?
Best El has 655 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Houston, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Best El?
The student-teacher ratio at Best El is 12.4:1, which is 16% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 21% 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 Best El?
89.3% of students at Best El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Best El?
The largest demographic group at Best El is Hispanic or Latino at 86.0% of enrollment, in Houston, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Best El?
Best El has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Best El rank among elementary schools in Houston?
By Resource Investment Index, Best El ranks #20 of 114 elementary schools in Houston, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Houston on the city page.
Is Best El a good school?
Best El earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Texas schools. 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 Alief Isd?
Besides Best El, Alief Isd also operates Elsik H S (4,057 students), Hastings H S (3,786 students), and Taylor H S (2,838 students). See the Alief Isd district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.