Enrollment
284
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 480012511234 Charter school
Discovery Middle — Houston, TX
Federal NCES profile for Discovery Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 39/100.
👥 Class size 34
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 53
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: Southwest Public Schools · 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)
16.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.4:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
92.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+50% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Discovery Middle 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
Discovery Middle reports 284 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 16.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% above the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 92.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 50% above the Texas average and 79% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 18.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Southwest Public Schools spends $16,360 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 2.3% from local sources (property taxes), 70.0% from the state, and 27.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Discovery Middle 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 | 16.4:1 | ▲ 12% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 92.8% | ▲ 50% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 284 | top 23% | — | — |
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
92.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 50% 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
16.4:1
students per teacher
— 12% above state mean
Top 77% in Texas — lower ratio than 23% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
18.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$16,360
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 284 Top 23% in Texas — larger than 77% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 16.0
Students per teacher 16.4:1 +12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 92.8% +50% vs state
NCES ID 480012511234
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 88.7%
African American 9.5%
White 1.8%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 18.7%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 4
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Southwest Public Schools, which includes Discovery Middle.
$16,360
Per student
-5%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 2.3%
State 70.0%
Federal 27.7%
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
- 526
- Students per teacher
- 20.1:1
- Enrollment
- 487
- Students per teacher
- 18.9:1
- Enrollment
- 462
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Enrollment
- 107
- Students per teacher
- 6:1
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 Discovery Middle
How many students attend Discovery Middle?
Discovery Middle has 284 students enrolled. It is a middle school in HOUSTON, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Discovery Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Discovery Middle is 16.4:1, which is 12% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Discovery Middle?
92.8% of students at Discovery Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Discovery Middle?
The largest demographic group at Discovery Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 88.7%. The school serves a student body in HOUSTON, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Discovery Middle?
Discovery Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 39/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.