Enrollment
12
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 482910013401
Marion Alternative Center — Smiley, TX
Federal NCES profile for Marion Alternative Center, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 99
📋 Attendance 0
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: Marion 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.
Free-lunch eligible
70.0%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+13% vs state
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
Marion Alternative Center reports 12 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 70.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 13% above the Texas average and 35% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 6 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 83.3% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Marion Isd spends $14,117 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 56.2% from local sources (property taxes), 32.2% from the state, and 11.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), calculated from 3 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 Marion Alternative Center 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free-lunch eligible | 70.0% | ▲ 13% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 12 | top 3% | — | — |
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
70.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 13% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Engagement
83.3%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$14,117
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
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 6 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
Enrollment 12 Top 3% in Texas — larger than 97% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) —
Students per teacher —
Free-lunch eligible 70.0% +13% vs state
NCES ID 482910013401
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 66.7%
White 25.0%
African American 8.3%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 66.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 6:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 83.3%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Marion Isd, which includes Marion Alternative Center.
$14,117
Per student
-18%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 56.2%
State 32.2%
Federal 11.6%
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
- 516
- Students per teacher
- 11.7:1
- Enrollment
- 398
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
- Enrollment
- 396
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Enrollment
- 387
- Students per teacher
- 12.1:1
Similar other schools in Smiley
2 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) 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 Marion Alternative Center
How many students attend Marion Alternative Center?
Marion Alternative Center has 12 students enrolled. It is a other school in SMILEY, TX.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Marion Alternative Center?
70.0% of students at Marion Alternative Center are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Marion Alternative Center?
The largest demographic group at Marion Alternative Center is Hispanic or Latino at 66.7%. The school serves a student body in SMILEY, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Marion Alternative Center?
Marion Alternative Center has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) based on 3 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.