Enrollment
533
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Mesquite, TX
Smith El
Federal NCES profile for Smith El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 40/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 483039007860
👥 S:T ratio 42
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 48
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Smith El earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #19 of 31
- schools in Mesquite · Resource Index
- 40
- Resource Index · Typical
- 14.4:1
- students per teacher
- 72.3%
- free-lunch eligible
Smith El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Smith El ranks #19 of 31 schools in Mesquite, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
37.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.4:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
-2% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
72.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+17% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Smith El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Smith El
Smith El is a higher-need, mid-sized combined-grade school in Mesquite, Texas, enrolling 533 students.
At 14.4:1, its student-teacher ratio sits close to the Texas median, within a few percentage points of the 14.7:1 state norm, neither notably crowded nor notably small.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 72.3% lands close to the Texas typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
With 533 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 1,931 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #1,008.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (54%) and African American (36%) (diversity index 58/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 533 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 20.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Mesquite Isd also operates Horn H S (2,757 students) and Mesquite H S (2,294 students) alongside Smith 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 Smith El compares
Smith 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 | 14.4:1 | ▼ 2% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 72.3% | ▲ 17% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 533 | top 45% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
14.4:1
Leaner classes than 53% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
533
Bigger than 66% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
72.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 17% 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
14.4:1
students per teacher
- 2% below state mean
Top 52% in Texas - lower ratio than 48% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
20.8%
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
$11,612
per pupil, district-wide
- below Texas avg of $13,644
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 533 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
20
in-school suspensions + 19 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 3.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.3 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 53.5%
African American 36.2%
White 6.2%
Two or More 3.2%
Asian 0.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 53.5% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 57.8/100
Simpson diversity index - at 57.8, Smith El is more mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Mesquite Isd, which includes Smith El.
$11,612
Per student
-15%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 30.4%
State 54.7%
Federal 14.9%
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 Smith El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Horn H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Mesquite H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| North Mesquite H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| West Mesquite H S | Larger | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Vroonland - Vanguard H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Smith El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,757
- Students per teacher
- 15.4:1
- Resource Index
- 49/100
- Enrollment
- 2,294
- Students per teacher
- 13.4:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 2,099
- Students per teacher
- 13.8:1
- Resource Index
- 42/100
- Enrollment
- 1,997
- Students per teacher
- 13.5:1
- Resource Index
- 46/100
- Enrollment
- 1,605
- Students per teacher
- 20.8:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
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 (~533 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Smith El's federal record.
- Compare Smith El against another school. Compare schools
- Mesquite 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 Smith El
How many students attend Smith El?
Smith El has 533 students enrolled. It is a public school in Mesquite, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Smith El?
The student-teacher ratio at Smith El is 14.4:1, which is 2% lower than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 8% 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 Smith El?
72.3% of students at Smith El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Smith El?
The largest demographic group at Smith El is Hispanic or Latino at 53.5% of enrollment, in Mesquite, TX. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 57.8/100.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Smith El?
Smith El has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Smith El rank among schools in Mesquite?
By Resource Investment Index, Smith El ranks #19 of 31 schools in Mesquite, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Mesquite on the city page.
Is Smith El a good school?
Smith El earns 40/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median. 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 Mesquite Isd?
Besides Smith El, Mesquite Isd also operates Horn H S (2,757 students), Mesquite H S (2,294 students), and North Mesquite H S (2,099 students). See the Mesquite 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.