Enrollment
550
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Buda, TX
Carpenter Hill El
Federal NCES profile for Carpenter Hill El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 480001011534
👥 S:T ratio 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 52
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Carpenter Hill El earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #2 of 8
- schools in Buda · Resource Index
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13.8:1
- students per teacher
- 14.9%
- free-lunch eligible
Carpenter Hill El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Carpenter Hill El ranks #2 of 8 schools in Buda, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
40.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.8:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
14.9%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-76% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Carpenter Hill El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Carpenter Hill El
Carpenter Hill El is a lower-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Buda, Texas, enrolling 550 students.
At 13.8:1, 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.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 14.9% free-meal eligibility runs 76% below the Texas average.
With 550 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.
Among 556 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #439, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (55%) and Hispanic or Latino (37%) (diversity index 56/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 550 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.3% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Hays Cisd spends $10,833 per pupil, 21% below the Texas average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Hays Cisd also operates Moe and Gene Johnson H S (2,870 students) and Jack C Hays H S (2,304 students) alongside Carpenter Hill 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 Carpenter Hill El compares
Carpenter Hill 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 | 13.8:1 | ▼ 6% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 14.9% | ▼ 76% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 550 | top 43% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.8:1
Leaner classes than 59% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
550
Bigger than 68% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
14.9%
free-lunch eligible
- 76% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.8:1
students per teacher
- 6% below state mean
Top 45% in Texas - lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
19.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$10,833
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 550 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.5 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 54.9%
Hispanic or Latino 36.5%
Two or More 4.4%
Asian 2.4%
African American 1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 54.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 56.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 56.3, Carpenter Hill El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hays Cisd, which includes Carpenter Hill El.
$10,833
Per student
-21%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-35%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 56.0%
State 32.3%
Federal 11.6%
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 Carpenter Hill El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moe and Gene Johnson H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Jack C Hays H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lehman H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dr T C Mccormick Jr Middle | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Camino Real El | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Carpenter Hill El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,870
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 2,304
- Students per teacher
- 17.9:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 2,128
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 1,198
- Students per teacher
- 18.2:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 962
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
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 (~550 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Carpenter Hill El's federal record.
- Compare Carpenter Hill El against another school. Compare schools
- Hays 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 Carpenter Hill El
How many students attend Carpenter Hill El?
Carpenter Hill El has 550 students enrolled. It is a public school in Buda, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Carpenter Hill El?
The student-teacher ratio at Carpenter Hill El is 13.8:1, which is 6% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 12% 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 Carpenter Hill El?
14.9% of students at Carpenter Hill El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Carpenter Hill El?
The largest demographic group at Carpenter Hill El is White at 54.9% of enrollment, in Buda, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 56.3/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Carpenter Hill El?
Carpenter Hill El has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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 Carpenter Hill El rank among schools in Buda?
By Resource Investment Index, Carpenter Hill El ranks #2 of 8 schools in Buda, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Buda on the city page.
Is Carpenter Hill El a good school?
Carpenter Hill El earns 42/100 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 Hays Cisd?
Besides Carpenter Hill El, Hays Cisd also operates Moe and Gene Johnson H S (2,870 students), Jack C Hays H S (2,304 students), and Lehman H S (2,128 students). See the Hays 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.