Enrollment
537
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 480744000024
Purcell El — Abilene, TX
Federal NCES profile for Purcell El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 26/100.
👥 Class size 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 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: Abilene 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)
39.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.3:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
80.0%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+29% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Purcell 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
Purcell El reports 537 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 39.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 12% 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% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 80.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 29% above the Texas average and 54% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 537 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 40.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Abilene Isd spends $14,351 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 32.4% from local sources (property taxes), 40.5% from the state, and 27.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (F), 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 Purcell 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 | 16.3:1 | ▲ 12% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 80.0% | ▲ 29% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 537 | top 55% | — | — |
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
80.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 29% 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
16.3:1
students per teacher
— 12% above state mean
Top 76% in Texas — lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
40.2%
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
$14,351
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 537 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
54
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 10.1 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 11.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 537 Top 55% in Texas — larger than 45% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 39.0
Students per teacher 16.3:1 +12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 80.0% +29% vs state
NCES ID 480744000024
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 57.7%
White 22.0%
African American 15.5%
Two or More 4.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Asian 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 57.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 537:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 40.2%
In-school suspensions 54
Out-of-school suspensions 6
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Abilene Isd, which includes Purcell El.
$14,351
Per student
-16%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-26%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 32.4%
State 40.5%
Federal 27.2%
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
- 1,798
- Students per teacher
- 16.1:1
- Enrollment
- 1,570
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Enrollment
- 776
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Enrollment
- 771
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Enrollment
- 770
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
Similar elementary schools in Abilene
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Wylie West J H
Standard public school
1,038 students 16.8:1 students per teacher
Wylie East El
Standard public school
776 students 15.8:1 students per teacher
Wylie West El
Standard public school
673 students 15.3:1 students per teacher
Bassetti El
Standard public school
546 students 15.8:1 students per teacher
Ortiz El
Standard public school
523 students 13.1:1 students per teacher
Ward El
Standard public school
502 students 15.9:1 students per teacher
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 Purcell El
How many students attend Purcell El?
Purcell El has 537 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in ABILENE, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Purcell El?
The student-teacher ratio at Purcell El is 16.3:1, which is 12% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Purcell El?
80.0% of students at Purcell El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Purcell El?
The largest demographic group at Purcell El is Hispanic or Latino at 57.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in ABILENE, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Purcell El?
Purcell El has a Resource Investment Index of 26/100 (F) 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.