Enrollment
264
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Waco, TX
Gholson School
Federal NCES profile for Gholson School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 482061002073
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 47
📋 Attendance 46
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Gholson School earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% of Texas schools.
- #8 of 32
- schools in Waco · Resource Index
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 12.6:1
- small classes for Texas
- 64.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Gholson School has class sizes smaller than 70% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Gholson School ranks #8 of 32 schools in Waco, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
21.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.6:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-14% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
64.1%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+4% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Gholson School compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Gholson School
Gholson School is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Waco, Texas, enrolling 264 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.6:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 64.1% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 264 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 717 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #279.
Its student body is led by White (65%) and Hispanic or Latino (26%) (diversity index 51/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 264 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.6% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 16.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 5 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Its district, Gholson Isd, also runs Mclennan County Challenge Academy (1 students).
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 Gholson School compares
Gholson School on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 12.6:1 | ▼ 14% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 64.1% | ▲ 4% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 264 | top 79% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.6:1
Leaner classes than 70% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
264
Bigger than 27% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
64.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 4% 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
12.6:1
students per teacher
- 14% below state mean
Top 30% in Texas - lower ratio than 70% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
21.6%
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
$11,983
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 264 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
28
in-school suspensions + 8 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 5 expulsions.
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 64.8%
Hispanic or Latino 25.8%
Two or More 4.9%
African American 4.5%
Largest group: White at 64.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 50.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 50.9, Gholson School is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Gholson Isd, which includes Gholson School.
$11,983
Per student
-12%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 18.3%
State 65.0%
Federal 16.6%
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 Gholson School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mclennan County Challenge Academy | Smaller | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Gholson School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1
- Students per teacher
- -
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 (~264 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.6:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Gholson School's federal record.
- Compare Gholson School against another school. Compare schools
- Gholson 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 Gholson School
How many students attend Gholson School?
Gholson School has 264 students enrolled. It is a public school in Waco, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gholson School?
The student-teacher ratio at Gholson School is 12.6:1, which is 14% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 20% 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 Gholson School?
64.1% of students at Gholson School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Gholson School?
The largest demographic group at Gholson School is White at 64.8% of enrollment, in Waco, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 50.9/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Gholson School?
Gholson School has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (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 Gholson School rank among schools in Waco?
By Resource Investment Index, Gholson School ranks #8 of 32 schools in Waco, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Waco on the city page.
Is Gholson School a good school?
Gholson School earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 70% 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 Gholson Isd?
Besides Gholson School, Gholson Isd also operates Mclennan County Challenge Academy (1 students). See the Gholson 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.