Enrollment
468
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Mercedes, TX
Ruben Hinojosa El
Federal NCES profile for Ruben Hinojosa El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 483025009298
👥 S:T ratio 48
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 6
📋 Attendance 22
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Ruben Hinojosa El earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.
- #4 of 7
- schools in Mercedes · Resource Index
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 13:1
- students per teacher
- 86.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Ruben Hinojosa El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Ruben Hinojosa El ranks #4 of 7 schools in Mercedes, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
36.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
13:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-12% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
86.4%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Ruben Hinojosa El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Ruben Hinojosa El
Ruben Hinojosa El is a high-poverty, mid-sized combined-grade school in Mercedes, Texas, enrolling 468 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 13:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat above the state's typical profile, with 86.4% of students eligible for free meals.
With 468 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 1,998 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #1,237.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (97% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 6/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 468 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 31.4% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 32.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Mercedes Isd also operates Mercedes H S (903 students) and Sgt Manuel Chacon Middle (518 students) alongside Ruben Hinojosa 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 Ruben Hinojosa El compares
Ruben Hinojosa 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 | 13:1 | ▼ 12% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 86.4% | ▲ 40% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 468 | top 54% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
13:1
Leaner classes than 67% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
468
Bigger than 57% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
86.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 40% 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
13:1
students per teacher
- 12% below state mean
Top 34% in Texas - lower ratio than 66% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
31.4%
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
$14,238
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 468 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 97.0%
White 2.4%
Asian 0.4%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 97.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 5.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 5.9, Ruben Hinojosa El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mercedes Isd, which includes Ruben Hinojosa El.
$14,238
Per student
+4%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-14%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 13.0%
State 54.9%
Federal 32.1%
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 Ruben Hinojosa El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercedes H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Sgt Manuel Chacon Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Travis El | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Taylor El | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| John F Kennedy El | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Ruben Hinojosa El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 903
- Students per teacher
- 12.7:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 518
- Students per teacher
- 12.9:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 478
- Students per teacher
- 13.3:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 406
- Students per teacher
- 14.5:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 399
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
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 (~468 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~13:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Ruben Hinojosa El's federal record.
- Compare Ruben Hinojosa El against another school. Compare schools
- Mercedes 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 Ruben Hinojosa El
How many students attend Ruben Hinojosa El?
Ruben Hinojosa El has 468 students enrolled. It is a public school in Mercedes, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ruben Hinojosa El?
The student-teacher ratio at Ruben Hinojosa El is 13:1, which is 12% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 17% 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 Ruben Hinojosa El?
86.4% of students at Ruben Hinojosa El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Ruben Hinojosa El?
The largest demographic group at Ruben Hinojosa El is Hispanic or Latino at 97.0% of enrollment, in Mercedes, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Ruben Hinojosa El?
Ruben Hinojosa El has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (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 Ruben Hinojosa El rank among schools in Mercedes?
By Resource Investment Index, Ruben Hinojosa El ranks #4 of 7 schools in Mercedes, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Mercedes on the city page.
Is Ruben Hinojosa El a good school?
Ruben Hinojosa El earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. 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 Mercedes Isd?
Besides Ruben Hinojosa El, Mercedes Isd also operates Mercedes H S (903 students), Sgt Manuel Chacon Middle (518 students), and Travis El (478 students). See the Mercedes 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.