Enrollment
564
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Brownsville, TX
Ortiz El
Federal NCES profile for Ortiz El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 46/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 481168010473
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 43
📋 Attendance 37
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ortiz El earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 72% of Texas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.
- #6 of 50
- schools in Brownsville · Resource Index
- 46
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.1:1
- large classes for Texas
- 66.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Ortiz El has class sizes larger than 72% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Ortiz El ranks #6 of 50 schools in Brownsville, TX.
School address
District: Brownsville Isd · Texas
NCES ID 481168010473 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
35.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.1:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
66.6%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+8% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ortiz El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ortiz El
Ortiz El is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Brownsville, Texas, enrolling 564 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.1:1 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 66.6% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 564 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index sits near the middle of the pack among 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,774 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #465.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (98% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 4/100).
Counselor coverage runs a bit thin, about 283 students per counselor, somewhat past the ASCA-recommended 250:1 benchmark.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 25.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 30.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Brownsville Isd also operates Veterans Memorial Early College H S (2,216 students) and Rivera Early College H S (2,150 students) alongside Ortiz 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 Ortiz El compares
Ortiz 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 | 16.1:1 | ▲ 10% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 66.6% | ▲ 8% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 564 | top 41% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.1:1
Leaner classes than 37% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
564
Bigger than 69% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
66.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 8% 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
16.1:1
students per teacher
- 10% above state mean
Top 72% in Texas - lower ratio than 28% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
25.4%
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
$14,009
per pupil, district-wide
- above Texas avg of $13,644
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 283 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
- 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 97.9%
White 0.9%
Asian 0.7%
Two or More 0.5%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 4.1/100
Simpson diversity index - at 4.1, Ortiz El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Brownsville Isd, which includes Ortiz El.
$14,009
Per student
+3%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-16%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 13.9%
State 55.9%
Federal 30.3%
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 Ortiz El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Veterans Memorial Early College H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Rivera Early College H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Hanna Early College H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Lopez Early College H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Pace Early College H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Ortiz El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,216
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 2,150
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 2,039
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 55/100
- Enrollment
- 1,739
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 1,621
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
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 (~564 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ortiz El's federal record.
- Compare Ortiz El against another school. Compare schools
- Brownsville 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 Ortiz El
How many students attend Ortiz El?
Ortiz El has 564 students enrolled. It is a public school in Brownsville, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ortiz El?
The student-teacher ratio at Ortiz El is 16.1:1, which is 10% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Ortiz El?
66.6% of students at Ortiz El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ortiz El?
The largest demographic group at Ortiz El is Hispanic or Latino at 97.9% of enrollment, in Brownsville, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ortiz El?
Ortiz El has a Resource Investment Index of 46/100 (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 Ortiz El rank among schools in Brownsville?
By Resource Investment Index, Ortiz El ranks #6 of 50 schools in Brownsville, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Brownsville on the city page.
Is Ortiz El a good school?
Ortiz El earns 46/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 72% of Texas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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 Brownsville Isd?
Besides Ortiz El, Brownsville Isd also operates Veterans Memorial Early College H S (2,216 students), Rivera Early College H S (2,150 students), and Hanna Early College H S (2,039 students). See the Brownsville 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.