Enrollment
533
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · San Marcos, TX
Mendez El
Federal NCES profile for Mendez El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 483897012183
👥 S:T ratio 50
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 20
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Mendez El earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Texas schools.
- #5 of 8
- elementary schools in San Marcos · Resource Index
- 35
- Resource Index · Typical
- 12.4:1
- small classes for Texas
- 89.1%
- free-lunch eligible
Mendez El has class sizes smaller than 73% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Mendez El ranks #5 of 8 elementary schools in San Marcos, TX.
School address
District: San Marcos Cisd · Texas
NCES ID 483897012183 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
12.4:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-16% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
89.1%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+44% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Mendez El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Mendez El
Mendez El is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in San Marcos, Texas, enrolling 533 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 12.4:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need is high: 89.1% of students qualify for free meals, 44% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
With 533 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,976 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #1,245.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (89% of enrollment) (diversity index 20/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 533 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 31.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
San Marcos Cisd also operates San Marcos H S (2,371 students) and Miller Middle (896 students) alongside Mendez 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 Mendez El compares
Mendez 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 | 12.4:1 | ▼ 16% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 89.1% | ▲ 44% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 533 | top 45% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
12.4:1
Leaner classes than 72% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
533
Bigger than 66% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
89.1%
free-lunch eligible
- 44% 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
12.4:1
students per teacher
- 16% below state mean
Top 27% in Texas - lower ratio than 73% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
31.9%
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
$11,826
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 533 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
2
in-school suspensions + 7 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.4 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.7 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 88.9%
White 7.7%
African American 2.1%
Two or More 0.8%
Asian 0.6%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 88.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 20.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 20.3, Mendez El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for San Marcos Cisd, which includes Mendez El.
$11,826
Per student
-13%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 71.5%
State 9.2%
Federal 19.3%
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 Mendez El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Marcos H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Miller Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Goodnight Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dezavala El | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Bowie El | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Mendez El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,371
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
- Enrollment
- 896
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 884
- Students per teacher
- 14.3:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 584
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 580
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
Similar elementary 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 (~533 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~12.4:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Mendez El's federal record.
- Compare Mendez El against another school. Compare schools
- San Marcos Cisd'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 Mendez El
How many students attend Mendez El?
Mendez El has 533 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in San Marcos, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Mendez El?
The student-teacher ratio at Mendez El is 12.4:1, which is 16% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 21% 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 Mendez El?
89.1% of students at Mendez El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Mendez El?
The largest demographic group at Mendez El is Hispanic or Latino at 88.9% of enrollment, in San Marcos, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Mendez El?
Mendez El has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (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 Mendez El rank among elementary schools in San Marcos?
By Resource Investment Index, Mendez El ranks #5 of 8 elementary schools in San Marcos, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in San Marcos on the city page.
Is Mendez El a good school?
Mendez El earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 73% of Texas 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 San Marcos Cisd?
Besides Mendez El, San Marcos Cisd also operates San Marcos H S (2,371 students), Miller Middle (896 students), and Goodnight Middle (884 students). See the San Marcos Cisd 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.