Enrollment
798
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Columbus, TX
Columbus El
Federal NCES profile for Columbus El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 45/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481470000962
👥 S:T ratio 41
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 69
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Columbus El earns 45/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #3 of 4
- public schools in Columbus · Resource Index
- 45
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.8:1
- students per teacher
- 62.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Columbus El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Columbus El ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Columbus, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
54.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.8:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
62.5%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+1% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Columbus El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Columbus El
Columbus El is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Columbus, Texas, enrolling 798 students.
At 14.8:1, 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.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 62.5% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 798 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,371 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #318.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (46%) and White (40%) (diversity index 62/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 798 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
12.4% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
Its district draws 16.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Columbus Isd also operates Columbus H S (524 students) and Columbus J H (323 students) alongside Columbus 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 Columbus El compares
Columbus 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 | 14.8:1 | ▲ 1% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 62.5% | ▲ 1% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 798 | top 19% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.8:1
Leaner classes than 49% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
798
Bigger than 85% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
62.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 1% 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
14.8:1
students per teacher
- 1% above state mean
Top 57% in Texas - lower ratio than 43% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
12.4%
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
$11,966
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 798 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
58
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 7.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.6 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 46.4%
White 39.5%
African American 9.6%
Two or More 3.4%
Asian 0.5%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 46.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 61.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 61.8, Columbus El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Columbus Isd, which includes Columbus El.
$11,966
Per student
-12%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 69.8%
State 14.2%
Federal 16.0%
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 Columbus El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus H S | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Columbus J H | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Columbus Alternative School | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Columbus El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 524
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 323
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 14
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 37/100
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 (~798 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Columbus El's federal record.
- Compare Columbus El against another school. Compare schools
- Columbus 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 Columbus El
How many students attend Columbus El?
Columbus El has 798 students enrolled. It is a public school in Columbus, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Columbus El?
The student-teacher ratio at Columbus El is 14.8:1, which is 1% 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 Columbus El?
62.5% of students at Columbus El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Columbus El?
The largest demographic group at Columbus El is Hispanic or Latino at 46.4% of enrollment, in Columbus, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 61.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Columbus El?
Columbus El has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Columbus El rank among public schools in Columbus?
By Resource Investment Index, Columbus El ranks #3 of 4 public schools in Columbus, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Columbus on the city page.
Is Columbus El a good school?
Columbus El earns 45/100 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 Columbus Isd?
Besides Columbus El, Columbus Isd also operates Columbus H S (524 students), Columbus J H (323 students), and Columbus Alternative School (14 students). See the Columbus 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.