Enrollment
2,747
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 482658008559
Foster H S — Richmond, TX
Federal NCES profile for Foster H S, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 14
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 49
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: Lamar Cisd · 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)
111.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
21.5:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+47% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
29.9%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-52% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Foster H S 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
Foster H S reports 2,747 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 111.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 21.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 47% 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 35% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 29.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 52% below the Texas average and 42% below the national baseline. The school offers 27 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 549 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 20.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Lamar Cisd spends $15,321 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 52.5% from local sources (property taxes), 35.8% from the state, and 11.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Foster H S 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 | 21.5:1 | ▲ 47% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 29.9% | ▼ 52% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,747 | top 99% | — | — |
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
29.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 52% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
21.5:1
students per teacher
— 47% above state mean
Top 97% in Texas — lower ratio than 3% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
20.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,321
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
Counselors5.0 FTE
Per 549 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
176
in-school suspensions + 126 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 6.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 14 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 2,747 Top 99% in Texas — larger than 1% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 111.0
Students per teacher 21.5:1 +47% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 29.9% -52% vs state
NCES ID 482658008559
Student demographics
African American 28.5%
Hispanic or Latino 27.8%
White 26.7%
Asian 12.2%
Two or More 4.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 28.5% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 27
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 5.0
Students per counselor 549:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 20.6%
In-school suspensions 176
Out-of-school suspensions 126
Expulsions 14
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Lamar Cisd, which includes Foster H S.
$15,321
Per student
-11%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-21%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 52.5%
State 35.8%
Federal 11.8%
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
- 3,401
- Students per teacher
- 21.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,888
- Students per teacher
- 22.1:1
- Enrollment
- 2,337
- Students per teacher
- 19.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,003
- Students per teacher
- 22.5:1
- Enrollment
- 1,966
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
Similar high schools in Richmond
3 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Foster H S
How many students attend Foster H S?
Foster H S has 2,747 students enrolled. It is a high school in RICHMOND, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Foster H S?
The student-teacher ratio at Foster H S is 21.5:1, which is 47% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 35% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Foster H S?
29.9% of students at Foster H S are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Foster H S?
The largest demographic group at Foster H S is African American at 28.5%. The school serves a diverse student body in RICHMOND, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Foster H S?
Foster H S has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.