Enrollment
524
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Arlington, TX
Foster El
Federal NCES profile for Foster El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 33/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 480870000245
👥 S:T ratio 43
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 19
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Foster El earns 33/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #47 of 63
- schools in Arlington · Resource Index
- 33
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.2:1
- students per teacher
- 88.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Foster El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Foster El ranks #47 of 63 schools in Arlington, TX.
School address
District: Arlington Isd · Texas
NCES ID 480870000245 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
37.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.2:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-3% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
88.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+43% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Foster El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Foster El
Scale and staffing sit near the state mainstream
Foster El is neither an extreme outlier in enrollment nor in student-teacher ratio among Texas schools. Its profile therefore turns on the other dimensions rather than on scale alone: economic need, counselor coverage, program access, attendance, and district finance. This middle placement is useful because it prevents the campus from being mislabeled as unusually large, small, crowded, or teacher-dense when the federal comparison does not support that claim.
Higher need meets a leaner resource profile
Foster El combines above-typical economic need with a Resource Investment Index in the lower part of the Texas distribution. This is the page's clearest equity tension: the population indicated by free-meal eligibility may require more support, while the reported staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance inputs produce a comparatively lean composite. The index is not an academic grade, but the mismatch is a concrete reason to inspect each component closely.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Foster El's 32.3% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Foster El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Arlington, Texas, enrolling 524 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 is high: 88.8% of students qualify for free meals, 43% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
With 524 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Among 1,977 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #1,407, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (69%) and African American (21%) (diversity index 47/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 524 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 32.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Arlington Isd also operates Martin H S (3,535 students) and Sam Houston H S (3,208 students) alongside Foster 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 Foster El compares
Foster 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 | 88.8% | ▲ 43% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 524 | top 47% | - | - |
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.
524
Bigger than 65% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
88.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 43% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; 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
32.3%
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
$11,746
per pupil, district-wide
- below Texas avg of $14,348
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 524 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
8
in-school suspensions + 15 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 69.3%
African American 20.8%
White 4.4%
Two or More 2.9%
Asian 2.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 69.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 47.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 47.3, Foster El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Arlington Isd, which includes Foster El.
$11,746
Per student
-18%
vs Texas
Avg $14,348
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 57.0%
State 23.9%
Federal 19.1%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Foster El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sam Houston H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Arlington H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lamar H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bowie H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Foster El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,535
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 3,208
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 2,580
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 2,457
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 2,140
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
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 (~524 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~14.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Foster El's federal record.
- Compare Foster El against another school. Compare schools
- Arlington 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 Foster El
How many students attend Foster El?
Foster El has 524 students enrolled. It is a public school in Arlington, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Foster El?
The student-teacher ratio at Foster 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 Foster El?
88.8% of students at Foster El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Foster El?
The largest demographic group at Foster El is Hispanic or Latino at 69.3% of enrollment, in Arlington, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Foster El?
Foster El has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Foster El rank among schools in Arlington?
By Resource Investment Index, Foster El ranks #47 of 63 schools in Arlington, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Arlington on the city page.
What other schools are in Arlington Isd?
Besides Foster El, Arlington Isd also operates Martin H S (3,535 students), Sam Houston H S (3,208 students), and Arlington H S (2,580 students). See the Arlington 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.