Enrollment
580
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · San Marcos, TX
Bowie El
Federal NCES profile for Bowie El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 44/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 483897004448
👥 S:T ratio 32
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 76
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Bowie El earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 81% of Texas schools.
- #2 of 8
- elementary schools in San Marcos · Resource Index
- 44
- Resource Index · Typical
- 17.1:1
- large classes for Texas
- 72.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Bowie El has class sizes larger than 81% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Bowie El ranks #2 of 8 elementary schools in San Marcos, TX.
School address
District: San Marcos Cisd · Texas
NCES ID 483897004448 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
17.1:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
72.0%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+16% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Bowie El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Bowie El
Bowie El is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in San Marcos, Texas, enrolling 580 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 17.1:1 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 72.0% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 580 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 1,955 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #580.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (78%) and White (13%) (diversity index 37/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 580 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 9.5% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 19.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
San Marcos Cisd also operates San Marcos H S (2,371 students) and Miller Middle (896 students) alongside Bowie 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 Bowie El compares
Bowie 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 | 17.1:1 | ▲ 16% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 72.0% | ▲ 16% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 580 | top 39% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
17.1:1
Leaner classes than 30% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
580
Bigger than 71% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
72.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 16% 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
17.1:1
students per teacher
- 16% above state mean
Top 81% in Texas - lower ratio than 19% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
9.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$11,826
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 580 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.9 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
Hispanic or Latino 78.3%
White 13.4%
African American 4.7%
Two or More 3.1%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 78.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 36.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 36.6, Bowie El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Marcos Cisd, which includes Bowie El.
$11,826
Per student
-13%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 71.5%
State 9.2%
Federal 19.3%
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 Bowie El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marcos H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Miller Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Goodnight Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Dezavala El | Similar size | Higher economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Hernandez El | Similar size | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Bowie El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,371
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 896
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 884
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 584
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 577
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
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 (~580 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~17.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Bowie El's federal record.
- Compare Bowie El against another school. Compare schools
- San Marcos Cisd'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 Bowie El
How many students attend Bowie El?
Bowie El has 580 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in San Marcos, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bowie El?
The student-teacher ratio at Bowie El is 17.1:1, which is 16% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 9% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Bowie El?
72.0% of students at Bowie El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Bowie El?
The largest demographic group at Bowie El is Hispanic or Latino at 78.3% of enrollment, in San Marcos, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Bowie El?
Bowie El has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 Bowie El rank among elementary schools in San Marcos?
By Resource Investment Index, Bowie El ranks #2 of 8 elementary schools in San Marcos, 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 San Marcos on the city page.
Is Bowie El a good school?
Bowie El earns 44/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 81% 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 San Marcos Cisd?
Besides Bowie El, San Marcos Cisd also operates San Marcos H S (2,371 students), Miller Middle (896 students), and Goodnight Middle (884 students). See the San Marcos Cisd 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.