Enrollment
868
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 482115002112
Highlands El — Highlands, TX
Federal NCES profile for Highlands El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 44/100.
👥 Class size 37
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 68
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 →
The verdict
Highlands El earns a D Resource Investment Index (44/100), with class sizes near the Texas median.
- D
- Resource Index · 44/100
- 15.7:1
- students per teacher
- 76.3%
- free-lunch eligible
- 868
- students enrolled
School address
District: Goose Creek 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)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.7:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
76.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+23% 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 868 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 47.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 8% 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 1% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 76.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 23% above the Texas average and 47% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 868 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Goose Creek Cisd spends $17,790 per pupil district-wide, above the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 55.7% from local sources (property taxes), 29.2% from the state, and 15.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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 | 15.7:1 | ▲ 8% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 76.3% | ▲ 23% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 868 | top 85% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
16 smaller classes than 42% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
868 larger than 88% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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
76.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 23% 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
15.7:1
students per teacher
— 8% above state mean
Top 67% in Texas — lower ratio than 33% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
13.0%
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
$17,790
per pupil, district-wide
— above 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 868 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
49
in-school suspensions + 16 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 868 Top 85% in Texas — larger than 15% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 47.0
Students per teacher 15.7:1 +8% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 76.3% +23% vs state
NCES ID 482115002112
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 68.0%
White 20.5%
African American 8.3%
Two or More 2.6%
Asian 0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 68.0% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 868:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.0%
In-school suspensions 49
Out-of-school suspensions 16
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Goose Creek Cisd, which includes Highlands El.
$17,790
Per student
+4%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 55.7%
State 29.2%
Federal 15.1%
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
- 2,335
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,150
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Enrollment
- 1,747
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 1,095
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
- Enrollment
- 1,013
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
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 868 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in HIGHLANDS, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Highlands El?
The student-teacher ratio at Highlands El is 15.7:1, which is 8% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 1% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Highlands El?
76.3% 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 Hispanic or Latino at 68.0%. The school serves a diverse student body in HIGHLANDS, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Highlands El?
Highlands El has a Resource Investment Index of 44/100 (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.