Enrollment
704
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Dallas, TX
Lake Highlands El
Federal NCES profile for Lake Highlands El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 52/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 483702004137
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 6
📋 Attendance 85
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lake Highlands El earns 52/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #37 of 232
- schools in Dallas · Resource Index
- 52
- Resource Index · Higher
- 13:1
- students per teacher
- 24.5%
- free-lunch eligible
Lake Highlands El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Lake Highlands El ranks #37 of 232 schools in Dallas, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
54.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
24.5%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-60% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lake Highlands El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lake Highlands El
Lake Highlands El is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Dallas, Texas, enrolling 704 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Comparatively few students face economic hardship here, 24.5% free-meal eligibility runs 60% below the Texas average.
Enrollment of 704 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 877 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #111.
Its student body is led by White (61%) and Hispanic or Latino (32%) (diversity index 52/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 469 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 6.0% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 15.0% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Richardson Isd also operates Lake Highlands H S (2,972 students) and Richardson H S (2,669 students) alongside Lake Highlands 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 Lake Highlands El compares
Lake Highlands 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 | 13:1 | ▼ 12% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 24.5% | ▼ 60% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 704 | top 26% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
704
Bigger than 80% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
24.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 60% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold, among the lower-need profiles in the state; federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
13:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 34% in Texas - lower ratio than 66% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
6.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
In the 5-10% range, close to the pre-pandemic national baseline.
Funding equity
$11,721
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
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 469 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
11
in-school suspensions + 4 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.1 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
White 61.4%
Hispanic or Latino 31.7%
African American 3.0%
Two or More 2.8%
Asian 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 61.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 52.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 52.1, Lake Highlands El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Richardson Isd, which includes Lake Highlands El.
$11,721
Per student
-14%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 69.7%
State 15.3%
Federal 15.0%
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 Lake Highlands El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Highlands H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Richardson H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Berkner H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Pearce H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Forest Meadow J H | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lake Highlands El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,972
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 2,669
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 2,350
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 2,317
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 1,211
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
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 (~704 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lake Highlands El's federal record.
- Compare Lake Highlands El against another school. Compare schools
- Richardson 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 Lake Highlands El
How many students attend Lake Highlands El?
Lake Highlands El has 704 students enrolled. It is a public school in Dallas, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lake Highlands El?
The student-teacher ratio at Lake Highlands El is 13:1, which is 12% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 17% 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 Lake Highlands El?
24.5% of students at Lake Highlands El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lake Highlands El?
The largest demographic group at Lake Highlands El is White at 61.4% of enrollment, in Dallas, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 52.1/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lake Highlands El?
Lake Highlands El has a Resource Investment Index of 52/100 (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 Lake Highlands El rank among schools in Dallas?
By Resource Investment Index, Lake Highlands El ranks #37 of 232 schools in Dallas, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Dallas on the city page.
Is Lake Highlands El a good school?
Lake Highlands El earns 52/100 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 Richardson Isd?
Besides Lake Highlands El, Richardson Isd also operates Lake Highlands H S (2,972 students), Richardson H S (2,669 students), and Berkner H S (2,350 students). See the Richardson 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.