Enrollment
541
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 481965006255
Highlands El — Sugar Land, TX
Federal NCES profile for Highlands El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 43
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 67
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: Fort Bend 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)
41.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.3:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
36.7%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-41% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Highlands 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
Highlands El reports 541 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 41.0 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: 36.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 41% below the Texas average and 29% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 541 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.1% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fort Bend Isd spends $14,425 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 58.4% from local sources (property taxes), 26.9% from the state, and 14.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Highlands 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 | 36.7% | ▼ 41% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 541 | top 56% | — | — |
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
36.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 41% 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
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
13.1%
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
$14,425
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 541 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.2 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 541 Top 56% in Texas — larger than 44% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 41.0
Students per teacher 14.3:1 -2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 36.7% -41% vs state
NCES ID 481965006255
Student demographics
Asian 28.8%
Hispanic or Latino 25.1%
White 23.7%
African American 16.3%
Two or More 5.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Asian at 28.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 541:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.1%
In-school suspensions 1
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fort Bend Isd, which includes Highlands El.
$14,425
Per student
-16%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 58.4%
State 26.9%
Federal 14.7%
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
- 3,114
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Enrollment
- 2,848
- Students per teacher
- 19.4:1
- Enrollment
- 2,816
- Students per teacher
- 19.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,655
- Students per teacher
- 19.3:1
- Enrollment
- 2,641
- Students per teacher
- 18.8:1
Similar other schools in Sugar Land
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Clements H S
Standard public school
2,641 students 18.8:1 students per teacher
Anne Mccormick Sullivan El
Standard public school
1,053 students 18.2:1 students per teacher
Walker Station El
Standard public school
793 students 17.7:1 students per teacher
Cornerstone El
Standard public school
743 students 18.3:1 students per teacher
Brazos Bend El
Standard public school
716 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Settlers Way El
Standard public school
698 students 14.6:1 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 Highlands El
How many students attend Highlands El?
Highlands El has 541 students enrolled. It is a other school in SUGAR LAND, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands El?
The student-teacher ratio at Highlands 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 Highlands El?
36.7% of students at Highlands El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Highlands El?
The largest demographic group at Highlands El is Asian at 28.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in SUGAR LAND, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands El?
Highlands El has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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.