Enrollment
398
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Garland, TX
Cooper El
Federal NCES profile for Cooper El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 43/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 482034002018
👥 S:T ratio 43
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 20
📋 Attendance 38
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cooper El earns 43/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #15 of 39
- schools in Garland · Resource Index
- 43
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.2:1
- students per teacher
- 85.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Cooper El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cooper El ranks #15 of 39 schools in Garland, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.2:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
85.5%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+38% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cooper El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cooper El
Cooper El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Garland, Texas, enrolling 398 students.
At 14.2:1, 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.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 85.5% of students eligible for free meals.
With 398 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 1,754 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #604.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (63%) and African American (14%) (diversity index 56/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 398 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 24.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 18.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Garland Isd also operates Sachse H S (2,935 students) and N Garland H S (2,929 students) alongside Cooper 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 Cooper El compares
Cooper 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 | 14.2:1 | ▼ 3% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 85.5% | ▲ 38% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 398 | top 64% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.2:1
Leaner classes than 55% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
398
Bigger than 47% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
85.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 38% 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
14.2:1
students per teacher
- 3% below state mean
Top 50% in Texas - lower ratio than 50% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
24.6%
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
$11,092
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 398 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 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 63.3%
African American 13.6%
White 12.6%
Asian 7.0%
Two or More 3.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 63.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 55.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 55.9, Cooper El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Garland Isd, which includes Cooper El.
$11,092
Per student
-19%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 43.7%
State 37.7%
Federal 18.6%
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 Cooper El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sachse H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| N Garland H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Garland H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rowlett H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Lakeview Centennial H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cooper El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,935
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 2,929
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 2,335
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 36/100
- Enrollment
- 2,156
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 2,073
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
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 (~398 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cooper El's federal record.
- Compare Cooper El against another school. Compare schools
- Garland 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 Cooper El
How many students attend Cooper El?
Cooper El has 398 students enrolled. It is a public school in Garland, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cooper El?
The student-teacher ratio at Cooper El is 14.2:1, which is 3% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 10% 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 Cooper El?
85.5% of students at Cooper El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cooper El?
The largest demographic group at Cooper El is Hispanic or Latino at 63.3% of enrollment, in Garland, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 55.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cooper El?
Cooper El has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (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 Cooper El rank among schools in Garland?
By Resource Investment Index, Cooper El ranks #15 of 39 schools in Garland, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Garland on the city page.
Is Cooper El a good school?
Cooper El earns 43/100 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 Garland Isd?
Besides Cooper El, Garland Isd also operates Sachse H S (2,935 students), N Garland H S (2,929 students), and Garland H S (2,335 students). See the Garland 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.