Enrollment
423
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 483411006595
Palmer Middle — Palmer, TX
Federal NCES profile for Palmer Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 45/100.
👥 Class size 38
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 15
📋 Attendance 58
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: Palmer 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)
28.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.5:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
44.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-28% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Palmer Middle 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
Palmer Middle reports 423 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 28.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 15.5:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 6% above the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 3% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 44.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 28% below the Texas average and 14% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 423 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 16.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Palmer Isd spends $15,854 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 30.6% from local sources (property taxes), 54.9% from the state, and 14.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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 Palmer Middle 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 | 15.5:1 | ▲ 6% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 44.8% | ▼ 28% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 423 | top 39% | — | — |
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
44.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 28% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
15.5:1
students per teacher
— 6% above state mean
Top 65% in Texas — lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
16.8%
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
$15,854
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 423 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
68
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 16.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 17.5 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 423 Top 39% in Texas — larger than 61% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 28.0
Students per teacher 15.5:1 +6% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 44.8% -28% vs state
NCES ID 483411006595
Student demographics
White 48.7%
Hispanic or Latino 46.3%
Two or More 3.3%
African American 1.7%
Largest group: White at 48.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 423:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 16.8%
In-school suspensions 68
Out-of-school suspensions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Palmer Isd, which includes Palmer Middle.
$15,854
Per student
-8%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-19%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 30.6%
State 54.9%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 525
- Students per teacher
- 15.2:1
- Enrollment
- 403
- Students per teacher
- 13.2:1
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 Palmer Middle
How many students attend Palmer Middle?
Palmer Middle has 423 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in PALMER, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Palmer Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Palmer Middle is 15.5:1, which is 6% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Palmer Middle?
44.8% of students at Palmer Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Palmer Middle?
The largest demographic group at Palmer Middle is White at 48.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in PALMER, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Palmer Middle?
Palmer Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 45/100 (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.