Enrollment
500
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Austin, TX
Forest Trail El
Federal NCES profile for Forest Trail El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 65/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 481776005979
👥 S:T ratio 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 50
📋 Attendance 85
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Forest Trail El earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 84% of Texas schools.
- #3 of 32
- elementary schools in Austin · Resource Index
- 65
- Resource Index · Higher
- 11.1:1
- small classes for Texas
- 3.7%
- free-lunch eligible
Forest Trail El has class sizes smaller than 84% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Forest Trail El ranks #3 of 32 elementary schools in Austin, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
45.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.1:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
3.7%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-94% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Forest Trail El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Forest Trail El
Forest Trail El is a lower-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Austin, Texas, enrolling 500 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 3.7% free-meal eligibility runs 94% below the Texas average.
With 500 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 96% of the 8,960 Texas schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 250 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #4, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (69%) and Asian (13%) (diversity index 50/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 250 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.2% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Eanes Isd also operates Westlake H S (2,854 students) and Hill Country Middle (946 students) alongside Forest Trail 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 Forest Trail El compares
Forest Trail 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 | 11.1:1 | ▼ 24% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 3.7% | ▼ 94% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 500 | top 50% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.1:1
Leaner classes than 82% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
500
Bigger than 62% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
3.7%
free-lunch eligible
- 94% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
11.1:1
students per teacher
- 24% below state mean
Top 16% in Texas - lower ratio than 84% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
6.2%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$11,312
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 250 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
White 68.6%
Asian 13.0%
Hispanic or Latino 11.4%
Two or More 5.8%
African American 1.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: White at 68.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 49.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 49.6, Forest Trail El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Eanes Isd, which includes Forest Trail El.
$11,312
Per student
-17%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 87.8%
State 7.1%
Federal 5.1%
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 Forest Trail El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westlake H S | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hill Country Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| West Ridge Middle | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bridge Point El | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Eanes El | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Forest Trail El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,854
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 946
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 886
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 577
- Students per teacher
- 12.5:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 529
- Students per teacher
- 10.8:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
Similar elementary 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 (~500 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Forest Trail El's federal record.
- Compare Forest Trail El against another school. Compare schools
- Eanes 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 Forest Trail El
How many students attend Forest Trail El?
Forest Trail El has 500 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Austin, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Forest Trail El?
The student-teacher ratio at Forest Trail El is 11.1:1, which is 24% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 29% 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 Forest Trail El?
3.7% of students at Forest Trail El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Forest Trail El?
The largest demographic group at Forest Trail El is White at 68.6% of enrollment, in Austin, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Forest Trail El?
Forest Trail El has a Resource Investment Index of 65/100 (higher 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 Forest Trail El rank among elementary schools in Austin?
By Resource Investment Index, Forest Trail El ranks #3 of 32 elementary schools in Austin, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Austin on the city page.
Is Forest Trail El a good school?
Forest Trail El earns 65/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 84% 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 Eanes Isd?
Besides Forest Trail El, Eanes Isd also operates Westlake H S (2,854 students), Hill Country Middle (946 students), and West Ridge Middle (886 students). See the Eanes 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.