Enrollment
510
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Arlington, TX
Shackelford J H
Federal NCES profile for Shackelford J H, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 480870000261
👥 S:T ratio 56
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 66
📋 Attendance 0
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Shackelford J H earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 84% of Texas schools.
- #4 of 16
- middle schools in Arlington · Resource Index
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.1:1
- small classes for Texas
- 70.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Shackelford J H has class sizes smaller than 84% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Shackelford J H ranks #4 of 16 middle schools in Arlington, TX.
School address
District: Arlington Isd · Texas
NCES ID 480870000261 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.1:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-24% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
70.6%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Shackelford J H compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Shackelford J H
Teacher staffing is the clearest operational strength
Shackelford J H's enrollment is not at an extreme, but its student-teacher ratio is: it reports fewer students per teacher than most Texas schools. This is the most distinctive scale-adjusted signal in the federal record. It should be read as staffing capacity, not class size or an academic outcome; the page separately reports attendance, program access, demographics, and district finance so a single favorable ratio does not become an unsupported overall rating.
Need and resources require a component-level read
Shackelford J H falls within the wide middle of the Texas distribution on both free-meal eligibility and the Resource Investment Index. Neither measure supplies an honest headline by itself. The useful distinctions are in the components: classroom staffing, counselor availability, attendance, gifted-program access, and district spending. Those fields can pull in opposite directions even when the overall percentile looks ordinary.
Attendance is the dominant support signal
Shackelford J H's 48.8% chronic-absence rate is more consequential than a generic staffing label: at least one quarter of students missed 10% or more of school days in the 2021-22 collection. That level can affect instruction, counseling demand, and continuity even when other reported resources look ordinary. The dataset records the scale of absence but not its causes, so it should prompt a current-year question rather than a conclusion about school management.
Shackelford J H is a higher-need, mid-sized middle school in Arlington, Texas, enrolling 510 students.
Class sizes run a bit leaner than typical: 11.1:1 puts it in the smaller third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 70.6% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 510 students, its enrollment sits close to the Texas median campus size.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,825 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #346.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (59%) and White (19%) (diversity index 59/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 170 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 48.8% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 251 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 510 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 7 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Arlington Isd also operates Martin H S (3,535 students) and Sam Houston H S (3,208 students) alongside Shackelford J H.
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 Shackelford J H compares
Shackelford J H on the metrics families compare, against Texas and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Texas | Texas avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.1:1 | ▼ 24% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 70.6% | ▲ 14% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 510 | top 48% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.1:1
Leaner classes than 82% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
510
Bigger than 63% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
70.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 14% 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
11.1:1
students per teacher
- 24% below state mean
Top 16% in Texas - lower ratio than 84% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
48.8%
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
$11,746
per pupil, district-wide
- below Texas avg of $14,348
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 170 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
116
in-school suspensions + 135 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 22.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 49.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 7 expulsions.
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 58.6%
White 19.2%
African American 16.1%
Two or More 3.5%
Asian 2.0%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 58.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 59.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 59.2, Shackelford J H is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Arlington Isd, which includes Shackelford J H.
$11,746
Per student
-18%
vs Texas
Avg $14,348
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $17,658
Revenue mix
Local 57.0%
State 23.9%
Federal 19.1%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2022-23 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Shackelford J H Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Sam Houston H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Arlington H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lamar H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bowie H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Shackelford J H's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,535
- Students per teacher
- 17.1:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 3,208
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 2,580
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 2,457
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Resource Index
- 54/100
- Enrollment
- 2,140
- Students per teacher
- 13.7:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
Similar middle 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 (~510 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~11.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Shackelford J H's federal record.
- Compare Shackelford J H against another school. Compare schools
- Arlington 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 Shackelford J H
How many students attend Shackelford J H?
Shackelford J H has 510 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Arlington, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shackelford J H?
The student-teacher ratio at Shackelford J H is 11.1:1, which is 24% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 29% 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 Shackelford J H?
70.6% of students at Shackelford J H are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Shackelford J H?
The largest demographic group at Shackelford J H is Hispanic or Latino at 58.6% of enrollment, in Arlington, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 59.2/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Shackelford J H?
Shackelford J H has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, gifted-program reporting, counselor availability, chronic absenteeism. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Shackelford J H rank among middle schools in Arlington?
By Resource Investment Index, Shackelford J H ranks #4 of 16 middle schools in Arlington, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all middle schools in Arlington on the city page.
What other schools are in Arlington Isd?
Besides Shackelford J H, Arlington Isd also operates Martin H S (3,535 students), Sam Houston H S (3,208 students), and Arlington H S (2,580 students). See the Arlington 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, the data changelog, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.