Enrollment
660
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · San Antonio, TX
Big Country El
Federal NCES profile for Big Country El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 484095006485
👥 S:T ratio 41
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 43
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Big Country El earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #173 of 327
- schools in San Antonio · Resource Index
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.7:1
- students per teacher
- 70.3%
- free-lunch eligible
Big Country El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Big Country El ranks #173 of 327 schools in San Antonio, TX.
School address
District: Southwest Isd · Texas
NCES ID 484095006485 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
45.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.7:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+0% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
70.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Big Country El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Big Country El
Big Country El is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in San Antonio, Texas, enrolling 660 students.
At 14.7:1, 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.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 70.3% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 660 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,867 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #1,133.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 26/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 660 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 22.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 19.9% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Southwest Isd also operates Southwest H S (2,363 students) and Southwest Legacy H S (2,250 students) alongside Big Country 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 Big Country El compares
Big Country 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 | 14.7:1 | ▼ 0% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 70.3% | ▲ 14% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 660 | top 31% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.7:1
Leaner classes than 50% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
660
Bigger than 78% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
70.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 14% 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
14.7:1
students per teacher
- 0% above state mean
Top 56% in Texas - lower ratio than 44% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
22.9%
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
$12,627
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 660 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.6 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 85.5%
White 6.8%
African American 5.3%
Two or More 2.0%
Asian 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 85.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 26.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 26.1, Big Country El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southwest Isd, which includes Big Country El.
$12,627
Per student
-7%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-24%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 35.4%
State 44.7%
Federal 19.9%
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 Big Country El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Southwest Legacy H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Elm Creek El | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Francis R Scobee Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Ronald E Mcnair Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Big Country El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,363
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 2,250
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 805
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 797
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 784
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
Similar other 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 (~660 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Big Country El's federal record.
- Compare Big Country El against another school. Compare schools
- Southwest 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 Big Country El
How many students attend Big Country El?
Big Country El has 660 students enrolled. It is a public school in San Antonio, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Country El?
The student-teacher ratio at Big Country El is 14.7:1, which is 0% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 6% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Big Country El?
70.3% of students at Big Country El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Big Country El?
The largest demographic group at Big Country El is Hispanic or Latino at 85.5% of enrollment, in San Antonio, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Big Country El?
Big Country El has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Big Country El rank among schools in San Antonio?
By Resource Investment Index, Big Country El ranks #173 of 327 schools in San Antonio, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in San Antonio on the city page.
Is Big Country El a good school?
Big Country El earns 38/100 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 Southwest Isd?
Besides Big Country El, Southwest Isd also operates Southwest H S (2,363 students), Southwest Legacy H S (2,250 students), and Elm Creek El (805 students). See the Southwest 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.