Enrollment
114
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 483697013214
Rice Challenge Academy — Eagle Lake, TX
Federal NCES profile for Rice Challenge Academy, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 10/100.
👥 Class size 0
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 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
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)
3.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
29.3:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+101% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
94.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+52% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Rice Challenge Academy 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
Rice Challenge Academy reports 114 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 3.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 29.3:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 101% 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 84% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 94.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 52% above the Texas average and 82% above the national baseline. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 75.4% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Rice Cisd spends $13,987 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 59.5% from local sources (property taxes), 25.8% from the state, and 14.8% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 10/100 (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 Rice Challenge Academy 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 | 29.3:1 | ▲ 101% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 94.3% | ▲ 52% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 114 | top 9% | — | — |
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
94.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 52% 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
29.3:1
students per teacher
— 101% above state mean
Top 99% in Texas — lower ratio than 1% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
75.4%
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
$13,987
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
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 114 Top 9% in Texas — larger than 91% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 3.0
Students per teacher 29.3:1 +101% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 94.3% +52% vs state
NCES ID 483697013214
Student demographics
White 47.4%
African American 23.7%
Hispanic or Latino 21.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 3.5%
Two or More 1.8%
Asian 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.9%
Largest group: White at 47.4% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 75.4%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Rice Cisd, which includes Rice Challenge Academy.
$13,987
Per student
-18%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-28%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 59.5%
State 25.8%
Federal 14.8%
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
- 348
- Students per teacher
- 11.5:1
- Enrollment
- 282
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Enrollment
- 194
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 166
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Enrollment
- 120
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
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 Rice Challenge Academy
How many students attend Rice Challenge Academy?
Rice Challenge Academy has 114 students enrolled. It is a high school in EAGLE LAKE, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rice Challenge Academy?
The student-teacher ratio at Rice Challenge Academy is 29.3:1, which is 101% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 84% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Rice Challenge Academy?
94.3% of students at Rice Challenge Academy are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Rice Challenge Academy?
The largest demographic group at Rice Challenge Academy is White at 47.4%. The school serves a diverse student body in EAGLE LAKE, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Rice Challenge Academy?
Rice Challenge Academy has a Resource Investment Index of 10/100 (F) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.