Enrollment
487
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Cactus, TX
Cactus El
Federal NCES profile for Cactus El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 31/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481761001514
👥 S:T ratio 28
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 65
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cactus El earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% of Texas schools.
- 31
- Resource Index · Lower
- 18:1
- large classes for Texas
- 81.9%
- free-lunch eligible
- 487
- students enrolled
Cactus El has class sizes larger than 86% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
18:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+22% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
81.9%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+32% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cactus El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cactus El
Cactus El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Cactus, Texas, enrolling 487 students.
Class loads run heavy: 18:1 is larger than about 86% of Texas schools and 22% above the 14.7:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 81.9% of students eligible for free meals.
With 487 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Among 2,184 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #1,788, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (86% of enrollment) (diversity index 25/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 738 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
14.2% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Dumas Isd spends $10,387 per pupil, 24% below the Texas average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 15.5% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Dumas Isd also operates Dumas H S (1,192 students) and Dumas Int (619 students) alongside Cactus 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 Cactus El compares
Cactus 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 | 18:1 | ▲ 22% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 81.9% | ▲ 32% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 487 | top 52% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
18:1
Leaner classes than 24% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
487
Bigger than 60% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
81.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 32% 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
18:1
students per teacher
- 22% above state mean
Top 86% in Texas - lower ratio than 14% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
14.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 10-15% range, above the pre-pandemic national baseline but within the broader post-pandemic picture.
Funding equity
$10,387
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
Counselors0.7 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 8.0%
Asian 3.7%
White 1.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Two or More 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 86.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 25.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 25.2, Cactus El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Dumas Isd, which includes Cactus El.
$10,387
Per student
-24%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 48.9%
State 35.6%
Federal 15.5%
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 Cactus El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dumas H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Dumas Int | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Dumas J H | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Morningside El | Similar size | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Green Acres El | Smaller | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cactus El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,192
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 619
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 609
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 431
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 339
- Students per teacher
- 13.6:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
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 (~487 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~18:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cactus El's federal record.
- Compare Cactus El against another school. Compare schools
- Dumas 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 Cactus El
How many students attend Cactus El?
Cactus El has 487 students enrolled. It is a public school in Cactus, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cactus El?
The student-teacher ratio at Cactus El is 18:1, which is 22% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 15% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cactus El?
81.9% of students at Cactus El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cactus El?
The largest demographic group at Cactus El is Hispanic or Latino at 86.0% of enrollment, in Cactus, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cactus El?
Cactus El has a Resource Investment Index of 31/100 (lower 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).
Is Cactus El a good school?
Cactus El earns 31/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 86% 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 Dumas Isd?
Besides Cactus El, Dumas Isd also operates Dumas H S (1,192 students), Dumas Int (619 students), and Dumas J H (609 students). See the Dumas 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.