Enrollment
320
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Big Sandy, TX
Big Sandy El
Federal NCES profile for Big Sandy El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 49/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481014000469
👥 S:T ratio 51
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 36
📋 Attendance 39
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Big Sandy El earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% of Texas schools.
- #2 of 3
- schools in Big Sandy · Resource Index
- 49
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.3:1
- small classes for Texas
- 68.2%
- free-lunch eligible
Big Sandy El has class sizes smaller than 74% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Big Sandy El ranks #2 of 3 schools in Big Sandy, TX.
School address
District: Big Sandy Isd · Texas
NCES ID 481014000469 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
26.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.3:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
68.2%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Big Sandy El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Big Sandy El
Big Sandy El is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Big Sandy, Texas, enrolling 320 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.3:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 68.2% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 320 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,002 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #369.
Its student body is led by White (66%) and Hispanic or Latino (16%) (diversity index 52/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 320 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 18.7% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Big Sandy Isd also operates Big Sandy H S (191 students) and Big Sandy J H (138 students) alongside Big Sandy 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 Sandy El compares
Big Sandy 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 | 12.3:1 | ▼ 16% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 68.2% | ▲ 10% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 320 | top 73% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.3:1
Leaner classes than 73% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
320
Bigger than 35% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
68.2%
free-lunch eligible
- 10% 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
12.3:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 26% in Texas - lower ratio than 74% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
24.4%
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
$12,426
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 320 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 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
White 66.3%
Hispanic or Latino 16.3%
African American 10.3%
Two or More 7.2%
Largest group: White at 66.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 51.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 51.8, Big Sandy El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Big Sandy Isd, which includes Big Sandy El.
$12,426
Per student
-9%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-25%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 26.5%
State 54.8%
Federal 18.7%
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 Sandy El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sandy H S | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Big Sandy J H | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Big Sandy El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 191
- Students per teacher
- 8.7:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 138
- Students per teacher
- 10.6:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
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 (~320 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Big Sandy El's federal record.
- Compare Big Sandy El against another school. Compare schools
- Big Sandy 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 Sandy El
How many students attend Big Sandy El?
Big Sandy El has 320 students enrolled. It is a public school in Big Sandy, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Sandy El?
The student-teacher ratio at Big Sandy El is 12.3:1, which is 16% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 22% 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 Big Sandy El?
68.2% of students at Big Sandy El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Big Sandy El?
The largest demographic group at Big Sandy El is White at 66.3% of enrollment, in Big Sandy, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 51.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Big Sandy El?
Big Sandy El has a Resource Investment Index of 49/100 (higher 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 Sandy El rank among schools in Big Sandy?
By Resource Investment Index, Big Sandy El ranks #2 of 3 schools in Big Sandy, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Big Sandy on the city page.
Is Big Sandy El a good school?
Big Sandy El earns 49/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 74% 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 Big Sandy Isd?
Besides Big Sandy El, Big Sandy Isd also operates Big Sandy H S (191 students) and Big Sandy J H (138 students). See the Big Sandy 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.