Enrollment
641
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 481917009220
Lucy Mae Mcdonald El — Ferris, TX
Federal NCES profile for Lucy Mae Mcdonald El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 49
🌟 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: Ferris 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)
49.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.7:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
80.2%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+30% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lucy Mae Mcdonald 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
Lucy Mae Mcdonald El reports 641 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 49.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 12.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 13% 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 20% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 80.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 30% above the Texas average and 55% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 641 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 Ferris Isd spends $13,988 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 23.2% from local sources (property taxes), 62.5% from the state, and 14.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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 Lucy Mae Mcdonald 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 | 12.7:1 | ▼ 13% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 80.2% | ▲ 30% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 641 | top 67% | — | — |
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
80.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 30% 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
12.7:1
students per teacher
— 13% below state mean
Top 25% in Texas — lower ratio than 75% 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
$13,988
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 641 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
26
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 4.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 641 Top 67% in Texas — larger than 33% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 49.0
Students per teacher 12.7:1 -13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 80.2% +30% vs state
NCES ID 481917009220
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 72.9%
White 15.8%
African American 8.6%
Two or More 2.3%
Asian 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 72.9% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 641:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.1%
In-school suspensions 26
Out-of-school suspensions 1
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Ferris Isd, which includes Lucy Mae Mcdonald El.
$13,988
Per student
-18%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 23.2%
State 62.5%
Federal 14.4%
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
- 940
- Students per teacher
- 13:1
- Enrollment
- 658
- Students per teacher
- 13.1:1
- Enrollment
- 436
- Students per teacher
- 11.6:1
- Enrollment
- 335
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 3
- Students per teacher
- —
Similar elementary schools in Ferris
1 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
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 Lucy Mae Mcdonald El
How many students attend Lucy Mae Mcdonald El?
Lucy Mae Mcdonald El has 641 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in FERRIS, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lucy Mae Mcdonald El?
The student-teacher ratio at Lucy Mae Mcdonald El is 12.7:1, which is 13% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 20% 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 Lucy Mae Mcdonald El?
80.2% of students at Lucy Mae Mcdonald El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lucy Mae Mcdonald El?
The largest demographic group at Lucy Mae Mcdonald El is Hispanic or Latino at 72.9%. The school serves a diverse student body in FERRIS, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lucy Mae Mcdonald El?
Lucy Mae Mcdonald El has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (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.