Enrollment
165
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Santa Maria, TX
Santa Maria H S
Federal NCES profile for Santa Maria H S, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 56/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 483933021157
👥 S:T ratio 67
📚 AP courses 30
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 84
📋 Attendance 32
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Santa Maria H S earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% of Texas schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Texas schools.
- #2 of 4
- public schools in Santa Maria · Resource Index
- 56
- Resource Index · Higher
- 8.3:1
- small classes for Texas
- 99.4%
- free-lunch eligible
Santa Maria H S has class sizes smaller than 95% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Santa Maria H S ranks #2 of 4 public schools in Santa Maria, TX.
School address
District: Santa Maria Isd · Texas
NCES ID 483933021157 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
20.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
8.3:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-44% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.4%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Santa Maria H S compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Santa Maria H S
Santa Maria H S is a high-poverty, small high school in Santa Maria, Texas, enrolling 165 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 8.3:1, Santa Maria H S is leaner than roughly 95% of Texas schools and 44% under the state's 14.7:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 99.4% of students qualify for free meals, 61% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 165 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 95% of the 8,960 Texas schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Against 156 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #22.
Its student body is predominantly Hispanic or Latino (100% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 0/100).
On the academic-pipeline side it reports 6 Advanced Placement courses.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 83 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 27.3% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
The surrounding Santa Maria Isd spends $20,404 per pupil, 50% above the Texas average, a better-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 28.2% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Santa Maria Isd also operates Tony Gonzalez El (224 students) and Santa Maria Middle (123 students) alongside Santa Maria H S.
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 Santa Maria H S compares
Santa Maria H S on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 8.3:1 | ▼ 44% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.4% | ▲ 61% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 165 | top 87% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
8.3:1
Leaner classes than 94% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
165
Bigger than 16% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
99.4%
free-lunch eligible
- 61% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
8.3:1
students per teacher
- 44% below state mean
Top 5% in Texas - lower ratio than 95% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
27.3%
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
$20,404
per pupil, district-wide
- above Texas avg of $13,644
Well above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting substantially higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 83 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 3.6 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 100.0%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Santa Maria H S is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
AP courses offered 6
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Maria Isd, which includes Santa Maria H S.
$20,404
Per student
+50%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
+23%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 9.4%
State 62.4%
Federal 28.2%
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.
How Santa Maria H S Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Gonzalez El | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Santa Maria Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Santa Maria Academic Academy-Options Campus (6-12) | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Santa Maria Daep | Smaller | No free-lunch data | No ratio data |
Comparisons are relative to Santa Maria H S's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 224
- Students per teacher
- 10.2:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
- Enrollment
- 123
- Students per teacher
- 11.2:1
- Resource Index
- 68/100
- Enrollment
- 9
- Students per teacher
- 2.3:1
- Resource Index
- 60/100
- Enrollment
- 3
- Students per teacher
- -
Similar high 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 (~165 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~8.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Santa Maria H S's federal record.
- Compare Santa Maria H S against another school. Compare schools
- Santa Maria 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 Santa Maria H S
How many students attend Santa Maria H S?
Santa Maria H S has 165 students enrolled. It is a high school in Santa Maria, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Maria H S?
The student-teacher ratio at Santa Maria H S is 8.3:1, which is 44% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 47% 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 Santa Maria H S?
99.4% of students at Santa Maria H S are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Maria H S?
The largest demographic group at Santa Maria H S is Hispanic or Latino at 100.0% of enrollment, in Santa Maria, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Maria H S?
Santa Maria H S has a Resource Investment Index of 56/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Santa Maria H S rank among public schools in Santa Maria?
By Resource Investment Index, Santa Maria H S ranks #2 of 4 public schools in Santa Maria, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Santa Maria on the city page.
Is Santa Maria H S a good school?
Santa Maria H S earns 56/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 95% 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 Santa Maria Isd?
Besides Santa Maria H S, Santa Maria Isd also operates Tony Gonzalez El (224 students), Santa Maria Middle (123 students), and Santa Maria Academic Academy-Options Campus (6-12) (9 students). See the Santa Maria 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.