Enrollment
423
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 484110007955 Charter school
Cornerstone Academy — Houston, TX
Federal NCES profile for Cornerstone Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 56/100.
👥 Class size 46
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 15
📋 Attendance 94
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Spring Branch Isd · Texas
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.5:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
15.1%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-76% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cornerstone Academy compares with Texas and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Cornerstone Academy reports 423 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 27.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 13.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 15% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 15.1% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 76% below the Texas average and 71% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 423 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 2.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Spring Branch Isd spends $18,524 per pupil district-wide, above the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 74.2% from local sources (property taxes), 6.5% from the state, and 19.3% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Cornerstone Academy compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Texas state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 13.5:1 | ▼ 8% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 15.1% | ▼ 76% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 423 | top 39% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
15.1%
free-lunch eligible
— 76% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13.5:1
students per teacher
— 8% below state mean
Top 34% in Texas — lower ratio than 66% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
2.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
Funding equity
$18,524
per pupil, district-wide
— above Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 423 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
15
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 423 Top 39% in Texas — larger than 61% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 27.0
Students per teacher 13.5:1 -8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 15.1% -76% vs state
NCES ID 484110007955
Student demographics
White 45.4%
Hispanic or Latino 31.7%
Asian 15.8%
Two or More 4.5%
African American 1.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.7%
Largest group: White at 45.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 423:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 2.4%
In-school suspensions 15
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Spring Branch Isd, which includes Cornerstone Academy.
$18,524
Per student
+8%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-5%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 74.2%
State 6.5%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,636
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
- Enrollment
- 2,398
- Students per teacher
- 19.6:1
- Enrollment
- 2,394
- Students per teacher
- 21.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,020
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,236
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
Similar middle schools in Houston
6 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
Lanier Middle
Standard public school
1,485 students 20.2:1 students per teacher
Aragon Middle
Standard public school
1,424 students 16.3:1 students per teacher
Burbank Middle
Standard public school
1,412 students 18.2:1 students per teacher
Cook Middle
Standard public school
1,375 students 15.7:1 students per teacher
Black Middle
Standard public school
1,364 students 19:1 students per teacher
C E King Middle
Standard public school
1,359 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Cornerstone Academy
How many students attend Cornerstone Academy?
Cornerstone Academy has 423 students enrolled. It is a middle school in HOUSTON, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cornerstone Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Cornerstone Academy is 13.5:1, which is 8% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 15% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cornerstone Academy?
15.1% of students at Cornerstone Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cornerstone Academy?
The largest demographic group at Cornerstone Academy is White at 45.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in HOUSTON, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cornerstone Academy?
Cornerstone Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (C) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.