Enrollment
513
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Houston, TX
Cummings El
Federal NCES profile for Cummings El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 41/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 480783005841
👥 S:T ratio 57
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 36
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Cummings El earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 86% of Texas schools.
- #200 of 435
- schools in Houston · Resource Index
- 41
- Resource Index · Typical
- 10.7:1
- small classes for Texas
- 87.3%
- free-lunch eligible
Cummings El has class sizes smaller than 86% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Cummings El ranks #200 of 435 schools in Houston, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
48.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
10.7:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-27% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
87.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cummings El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Cummings El
Cummings El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Houston, Texas, enrolling 513 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 10.7:1, Cummings El is leaner than roughly 86% of Texas schools and 27% under the state's 14.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 87.3% of students eligible for free meals.
With 513 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 2,057 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #781.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (53%) and African American (37%) (diversity index 58/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 513 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 25.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Alief Isd also operates Elsik H S (4,057 students) and Hastings H S (3,786 students) alongside Cummings 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 Cummings El compares
Cummings 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 | 10.7:1 | ▼ 27% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 87.3% | ▲ 41% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 513 | top 48% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
10.7:1
Leaner classes than 85% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
513
Bigger than 63% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
87.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 41% 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
10.7:1
students per teacher
- 27% below state mean
Top 14% in Texas - lower ratio than 86% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
25.7%
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
$13,241
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 513 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
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 52.6%
African American 37.2%
Asian 7.6%
White 1.6%
Two or More 0.6%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 52.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 57.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 57.9, Cummings El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Alief Isd, which includes Cummings El.
$13,241
Per student
-3%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 34.8%
State 39.8%
Federal 25.3%
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.
How Cummings El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elsik H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hastings H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Taylor H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| O'donnell Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Budewig Int | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Cummings El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,057
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 3,786
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 2,838
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 1,214
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 1,054
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
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 (~513 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~10.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Cummings El's federal record.
- Compare Cummings El against another school. Compare schools
- Alief 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 Cummings El
How many students attend Cummings El?
Cummings El has 513 students enrolled. It is a public school in Houston, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cummings El?
The student-teacher ratio at Cummings El is 10.7:1, which is 27% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 32% 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 Cummings El?
87.3% of students at Cummings El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cummings El?
The largest demographic group at Cummings El is Hispanic or Latino at 52.6% of enrollment, in Houston, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 57.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cummings El?
Cummings El has a Resource Investment Index of 41/100 (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 Cummings El rank among schools in Houston?
By Resource Investment Index, Cummings El ranks #200 of 435 schools in Houston, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Houston on the city page.
Is Cummings El a good school?
Cummings El earns 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller 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 Alief Isd?
Besides Cummings El, Alief Isd also operates Elsik H S (4,057 students), Hastings H S (3,786 students), and Taylor H S (2,838 students). See the Alief 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.