Enrollment
537
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Houston, TX
Garfield El
Federal NCES profile for Garfield El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 42/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 483432003826
👥 S:T ratio 51
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 47
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Garfield El earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 75% of Texas schools.
- #182 of 435
- schools in Houston · Resource Index
- 42
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.2:1
- small classes for Texas
- 84.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Garfield El has class sizes smaller than 75% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Garfield El ranks #182 of 435 schools in Houston, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
44.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.2:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-17% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
84.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Garfield El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Garfield El
Garfield El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Houston, Texas, enrolling 537 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.2:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 84.8% of students eligible for free meals.
With 537 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 2,225 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #739.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (88% of enrollment) (diversity index 22/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 537 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.2% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 24.8% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Pasadena Isd also operates Dobie H S (3,692 students) and Pasadena Memorial H S (3,177 students) alongside Garfield 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 Garfield El compares
Garfield 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 | 12.2:1 | ▼ 17% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 84.8% | ▲ 37% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 537 | top 45% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.2:1
Leaner classes than 74% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
537
Bigger than 66% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
84.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 37% 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
12.2:1
students per teacher
- 17% below state mean
Top 25% in Texas - lower ratio than 75% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
21.2%
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
$13,221
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 537 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.5 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
Hispanic or Latino 88.1%
African American 8.9%
White 2.2%
Asian 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Two or More 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.1% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 21.5/100
Simpson diversity index - at 21.5, Garfield El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pasadena Isd, which includes Garfield El.
$13,221
Per student
-3%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-20%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 31.7%
State 43.5%
Federal 24.8%
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.
How Garfield El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dobie H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Pasadena Memorial H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sam Rayburn H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Pasadena H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| South Houston H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Garfield El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,692
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 48/100
- Enrollment
- 3,177
- Students per teacher
- 16.5:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 2,627
- Students per teacher
- 14.4:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 2,217
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 2,185
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
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 (~537 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.2:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Garfield El's federal record.
- Compare Garfield El against another school. Compare schools
- Pasadena 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 Garfield El
How many students attend Garfield El?
Garfield El has 537 students enrolled. It is a public school in Houston, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Garfield El?
The student-teacher ratio at Garfield El is 12.2:1, which is 17% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 22% 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 Garfield El?
84.8% of students at Garfield El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Garfield El?
The largest demographic group at Garfield El is Hispanic or Latino at 88.1% of enrollment, in Houston, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Garfield El?
Garfield El has a Resource Investment Index of 42/100 (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 Garfield El rank among schools in Houston?
By Resource Investment Index, Garfield El ranks #182 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 Garfield El a good school?
Garfield El earns 42/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 75% 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 Pasadena Isd?
Besides Garfield El, Pasadena Isd also operates Dobie H S (3,692 students), Pasadena Memorial H S (3,177 students), and Sam Rayburn H S (2,627 students). See the Pasadena 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.