Other / mixed grade configuration · Albuquerque, NM

Lowell Elementary

Federal NCES profile for Lowell Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.

2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 350006000080
0/100100/10040/100
👥 S:T ratio
66
🌟 Gifted program
30
🎓 Counselors
63
📋 Attendance
0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →

The verdict

Lowell Elementary earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of New Mexico schools.

#57 of 102
schools in Albuquerque · Resource Index
40
Resource Index · Typical
8.4:1
small classes for New Mexico
100.0%
free-lunch eligible

Lowell Elementary has class sizes smaller than 92% of New Mexico schools. Computed live against every New Mexico school reporting to NCES.

By Resource Investment Index, Lowell Elementary ranks #57 of 102 schools in Albuquerque, NM.

Enrollment

226

New Mexico · 2024-25 NCES data

Teachers (FTE)

27.0

Federal CCD staff survey

Students per teacher

8.4:1

vs 14:1 New Mexico avg

-40% vs state

Free-lunch eligible

100.0%

vs 80.8% New Mexico avg

+24% vs state

Student-teacher ratio in context

How Lowell Elementary compares with New Mexico and U.S. medians

Smaller classes than state median

Source: NCES Common Core of Data As of 2024-25 federal staff survey Total enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent classroom teachers

What stands out at Lowell Elementary

Lowell Elementary is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, enrolling 226 students.

Classes run notably small here: at 8.4:1, Lowell Elementary is leaner than roughly 92% of New Mexico schools and 40% under the state's 14:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.

Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the New Mexico typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.

With 226 students, its enrollment sits close to the New Mexico median campus size.

Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 867 scored New Mexico schools.

Against 193 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #113.

Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (74%) and African American (9%) (diversity index 44/100).

Counselor coverage is strong, about 184 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.

Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 77.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).

The surrounding Albuquerque Public Schools spends $12,964 per pupil, 22% below the New Mexico average, a leaner-resourced district than most.

Albuquerque Public Schools also operates Volcano Vista High (2,089 students) and Atrisco Heritage Academy Hs (1,930 students) alongside Lowell Elementary.

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 Lowell Elementary compares

Lowell Elementary on the metrics families compare, against New Mexico and U.S. means.

Metric This school vs New Mexico New Mexico avg U.S. avg
Students per teacher 8.4:1 ▼ 40% 14:1 15.7:1
Free-lunch eligible 100.0% ▲ 24% 80.8% 51.7%
Enrollment 226 top 59% - -

Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25

8.4:1
Leaner classes than 94% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
226
Bigger than 22% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.

Equity indicators (what these measure)

Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible - 24% above the New Mexico average of 80.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.4:1
students per teacher - 40% below state mean
Top 8% in New Mexico - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
77.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$12,964
per pupil, district-wide - below New Mexico avg of $16,652
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.2 FTE
Per 184 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
1
in-school suspensions + 10 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.9 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 73.5%
African American 8.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 6.6%
White 6.2%
Two or More 3.5%
Asian 1.3%

Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 73.5% of enrollment.

Student-body diversity index 44.2/100

Simpson diversity index - at 44.2, Lowell Elementary is more mixed than the New Mexico school average of 39.8.

Programs

Funding & spending

District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Albuquerque Public Schools, which includes Lowell Elementary.

$12,964
Per student
-22%
vs New Mexico
Avg $16,652
-22%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 17.5%
State 68.0%
Federal 14.5%

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 Lowell Elementary Compares to District-Mates

School Enrollment Economic Profile Student-Teacher Ratio
Volcano Vista High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Atrisco Heritage Academy Hs Larger Similar economic need Higher S:T ratio
La Cueva High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Sandia High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio
Eldorado High Larger Lower economic need Higher S:T ratio

Comparisons are relative to Lowell Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.

Other Schools in This District

Albuquerque Public Schools · 5 sibling schools

View district profile

Similar other schools statewide

Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of New Mexico, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.

Next steps

Verify locally before acting on Lowell Elementary's federal record.

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 Lowell Elementary

How many students attend Lowell Elementary?

Lowell Elementary has 226 students enrolled. It is a public school in Albuquerque, NM.

What is the student-teacher ratio at Lowell Elementary?

The student-teacher ratio at Lowell Elementary is 8.4:1, which is 40% lower than the New Mexico average of 14:1 and 46% 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 Lowell Elementary?

100.0% of students at Lowell Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the New Mexico average of 80.8%.

What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lowell Elementary?

The largest demographic group at Lowell Elementary is Hispanic or Latino at 73.5% of enrollment, in Albuquerque, NM.

What is the Resource Investment Index for Lowell Elementary?

Lowell Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (typical 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 Lowell Elementary rank among schools in Albuquerque?

By Resource Investment Index, Lowell Elementary ranks #57 of 102 schools in Albuquerque, NM. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Albuquerque on the city page.

Is Lowell Elementary a good school?

Lowell Elementary earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of New Mexico schools. 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 Albuquerque Public Schools?

Besides Lowell Elementary, Albuquerque Public Schools also operates Volcano Vista High (2,089 students), Atrisco Heritage Academy Hs (1,930 students), and La Cueva High (1,826 students). See the Albuquerque Public Schools district page for the complete list.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) CCD + Public School Universe (2024-25), CRDC (2021-22), F-33 District Finance Survey (FY 2021-22) · 2024-25 Data as of the 2024-25 school year. Coverage from U.S. Department of Education NCES Common Core of Data. Varies by entity type; administrative districts and certain charter networks may report only a subset of fields.

All federal data sources used on this page

Full source list and how we compute each figure: methodology page.

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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.