Enrollment
409
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 483039008192
Gray El — Balch Springs, TX
Federal NCES profile for Gray El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 48/100.
👥 Class size 43
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 18
📋 Attendance 60
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: Mesquite Isd · 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)
30.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.3:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
84.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+37% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Gray El 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
Gray El reports 409 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 30.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 2% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 10% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 84.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 37% above the Texas average and 64% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 409 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Mesquite Isd spends $14,391 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.4% from local sources (property taxes), 54.7% from the state, and 14.9% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D), calculated from 4 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 Gray El 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 | 14.3:1 | ▼ 2% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 84.8% | ▲ 37% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 409 | top 37% | — | — |
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
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
14.3:1
students per teacher
— 2% below state mean
Top 46% in Texas — lower ratio than 54% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
16.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$14,391
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 409 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
17
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 5.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 409 Top 37% in Texas — larger than 63% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 30.0
Students per teacher 14.3:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 84.8% +37% vs state
NCES ID 483039008192
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 74.1%
African American 14.7%
White 9.0%
Two or More 1.7%
Asian 0.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 74.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 409:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.1%
In-school suspensions 17
Out-of-school suspensions 7
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mesquite Isd, which includes Gray El.
$14,391
Per student
-16%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.4%
State 54.7%
Federal 14.9%
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
- 2,757
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 2,294
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 2,099
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,997
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Enrollment
- 1,605
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
Similar other schools in Balch Springs
4 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Kipp Pleasant Grove Leadership Academy
Standard public school
618 students 14.2:1 students per teacher
Hodges El
Standard public school
570 students 14.5:1 students per teacher
Floyd El
Standard public school
552 students 14.3:1 students per teacher
Mackey El
Standard public school
478 students 16.9:1 students per teacher
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 Gray El
How many students attend Gray El?
Gray El has 409 students enrolled. It is a other school in BALCH SPRINGS, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gray El?
The student-teacher ratio at Gray El is 14.3:1, which is 2% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 10% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Gray El?
84.8% of students at Gray El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Gray El?
The largest demographic group at Gray El is Hispanic or Latino at 74.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in BALCH SPRINGS, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Gray El?
Gray El has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.