Enrollment
123
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 483933013399
Santa Maria Middle — Santa Maria, TX
Federal NCES profile for Santa Maria Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 67/100.
👥 Class size 53
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 75
📋 Attendance 70
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: Santa Maria 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)
11.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.7:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
99.2%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+60% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Santa Maria 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
Santa Maria Middle reports 123 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 11.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 11.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 20% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 26% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 99.2% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 60% above the Texas average and 92% above the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 123 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 12.2% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Santa Maria Isd spends $29,193 per pupil district-wide, above the Texas average of $17,150 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 9.4% from local sources (property taxes), 62.4% from the state, and 28.2% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 67/100 (B-), 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 Santa Maria 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 | 11.7:1 | ▼ 20% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 99.2% | ▲ 60% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 123 | top 10% | — | — |
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
99.2%
free-lunch eligible
— 60% 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
11.7:1
students per teacher
— 20% below state mean
Top 17% in Texas — lower ratio than 83% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
12.2%
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
$29,193
per pupil, district-wide
— above Texas avg of $17,150
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 123 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
7
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 5.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 123 Top 10% in Texas — larger than 90% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 11.0
Students per teacher 11.7:1 -20% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 99.2% +60% vs state
NCES ID 483933013399
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 99.2%
African American 0.8%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 99.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 123:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 12.2%
In-school suspensions 7
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Santa Maria Isd, which includes Santa Maria Middle.
$29,193
Per student
+70%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
+50%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 224
- Students per teacher
- 12:1
- Enrollment
- 165
- Students per teacher
- 8.1:1
- Enrollment
- 9
- Students per teacher
- 2.3:1
- Enrollment
- 3
- 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 Santa Maria Middle
How many students attend Santa Maria Middle?
Santa Maria Middle has 123 students enrolled. It is a middle school in SANTA MARIA, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Maria Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Santa Maria Middle is 11.7:1, which is 20% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 26% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Santa Maria Middle?
99.2% of students at Santa Maria Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Santa Maria Middle?
The largest demographic group at Santa Maria Middle is Hispanic or Latino at 99.2%. The school serves a student body in SANTA MARIA, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Santa Maria Middle?
Santa Maria Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 67/100 (B-) 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.