Enrollment
334
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Houston, TX
Foster El
Federal NCES profile for Foster El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 38/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 482364002459
👥 S:T ratio 44
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 33
📋 Attendance 3
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Foster El earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #258 of 435
- schools in Houston · Resource Index
- 38
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13.9:1
- students per teacher
- 99.5%
- 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 #258 of 435 schools in Houston, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.9:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.5%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Foster El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Foster El
Foster El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Houston, Texas, enrolling 334 students.
At 13.9:1, 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: 99.5% of students qualify for free meals, 61% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 334 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 781 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #457.
Its student body is predominantly African American (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 22/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 334 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 38.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 23.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Houston Isd also operates Texas Connections Academy at Houston (8,641 students) and Bellaire H S (3,216 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 | 13.9:1 | ▼ 5% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.5% | ▲ 61% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 334 | top 72% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.9:1
Leaner classes than 58% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
334
Bigger than 37% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 61% 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
13.9:1
students per teacher
- 5% below state mean
Top 46% in Texas - lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
38.9%
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
$12,031
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 334 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
21
in-school suspensions + 11 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 9.6 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
African American 88.0%
Hispanic or Latino 8.7%
Two or More 1.8%
White 1.5%
Largest group: African American at 88.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 21.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 21.7, Foster El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Houston Isd, which includes Foster El.
$12,031
Per student
-12%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 68.8%
State 8.0%
Federal 23.2%
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 Foster El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Connections Academy at Houston | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bellaire H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lamar H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Westside H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Heights H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher 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
- 8,641
- Students per teacher
- 28:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 3,216
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 2,968
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 2,729
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 2,426
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
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 (~334 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13.9:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Foster El's federal record.
- Compare Foster El against another school. Compare schools
- Houston 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 334 students enrolled. It is a public school in Houston, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Foster El?
The student-teacher ratio at Foster El is 13.9:1, which is 5% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 11% 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?
99.5% 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 African American at 88.0% of enrollment, in Houston, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Foster El?
Foster El has a Resource Investment Index of 38/100 (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 Foster El rank among schools in Houston?
By Resource Investment Index, Foster El ranks #258 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 Foster El a good school?
Foster El earns 38/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. 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 Houston Isd?
Besides Foster El, Houston Isd also operates Texas Connections Academy at Houston (8,641 students), Bellaire H S (3,216 students), and Lamar H S (2,968 students). See the Houston 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.