Enrollment
330
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Houston, TX
Jefferson El
Federal NCES profile for Jefferson El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 50/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 482364002500
👥 S:T ratio 45
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 34
📋 Attendance 52
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Jefferson El earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #63 of 435
- schools in Houston · Resource Index
- 50
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13.8:1
- students per teacher
- 94.8%
- free-lunch eligible
Jefferson El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Jefferson El ranks #63 of 435 schools in Houston, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
24.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13.8:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
94.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+53% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Jefferson El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Jefferson El
Jefferson El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Houston, Texas, enrolling 330 students.
At 13.8:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Texas median, within a few percentage points of the 14.7:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Economic need is high: 94.8% of students qualify for free meals, 53% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 330 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 982 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #116.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (87% of enrollment) (diversity index 23/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 330 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 19.4% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Its district draws 23.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Houston Isd also operates Texas Connections Academy at Houston (8,641 students) and Bellaire H S (3,216 students) alongside Jefferson 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 Jefferson El compares
Jefferson 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 | 13.8:1 | ▼ 6% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 94.8% | ▲ 53% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 330 | top 72% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13.8:1
Leaner classes than 59% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
330
Bigger than 37% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
94.8%
free-lunch eligible
- 53% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
13.8:1
students per teacher
- 6% below state mean
Top 45% in Texas - lower ratio than 55% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
19.4%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 15-20% range, nearing the "high" absenteeism threshold.
Funding equity
$12,031
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 330 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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 87.3%
African American 9.7%
White 1.8%
Asian 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 87.3% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 22.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 22.8, Jefferson El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Houston Isd, which includes Jefferson El.
$12,031
Per student
-12%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-27%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 68.8%
State 8.0%
Federal 23.2%
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 Jefferson El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Connections Academy at Houston | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bellaire H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lamar H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Westside H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Heights H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Jefferson El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 8,641
- Students per teacher
- 28:1
- Resource Index
- 24/100
- Enrollment
- 3,216
- Students per teacher
- 18.6:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 2,968
- Students per teacher
- 20.9:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 2,729
- Students per teacher
- 17.5:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 2,426
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
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 (~330 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13.8:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Jefferson El's federal record.
- Compare Jefferson El against another school. Compare schools
- Houston 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 Jefferson El
How many students attend Jefferson El?
Jefferson El has 330 students enrolled. It is a public school in Houston, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Jefferson El?
The student-teacher ratio at Jefferson El is 13.8:1, which is 6% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 12% 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 Jefferson El?
94.8% of students at Jefferson El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Jefferson El?
The largest demographic group at Jefferson El is Hispanic or Latino at 87.3% of enrollment, in Houston, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Jefferson El?
Jefferson El has a Resource Investment Index of 50/100 (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 Jefferson El rank among schools in Houston?
By Resource Investment Index, Jefferson El ranks #63 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 Jefferson El a good school?
Jefferson El earns 50/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. 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 Houston Isd?
Besides Jefferson El, Houston Isd also operates Texas Connections Academy at Houston (8,641 students), Bellaire H S (3,216 students), and Lamar H S (2,968 students). See the Houston 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.