Enrollment
2,098
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 481473000974
Smithson Valley H S — Spring Branch, TX
Federal NCES profile for Smithson Valley H S, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 43/100.
👥 Class size 36
📚 AP courses 35
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 36
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
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)
146.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
13.8%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-78% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Smithson Valley H S 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
Smithson Valley H S reports 2,098 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 146.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 16:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 10% above the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 1% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 13.8% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 78% below the Texas average and 73% below the national baseline. The school offers 7 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 300 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 25.6% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Comal Isd spends $13,262 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 81.2% from local sources (property taxes), 8.6% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D), calculated from 5 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 Smithson Valley H S 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 | 16:1 | ▲ 10% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 13.8% | ▼ 78% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 2,098 | top 97% | — | — |
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
13.8%
free-lunch eligible
— 78% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
16:1
students per teacher
— 10% above state mean
Top 72% in Texas — lower ratio than 28% of state schools
Between 15:1 and 20:1 — in line with the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
25.6%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$13,262
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors7.0 FTE
Per 300 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
243
in-school suspensions + 106 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 11.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 16.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 70 expulsions.
Overview
Enrollment 2,098 Top 97% in Texas — larger than 3% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 146.0
Students per teacher 16:1 +10% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 13.8% -78% vs state
NCES ID 481473000974
Student demographics
White 56.2%
Hispanic or Latino 35.2%
Two or More 4.1%
African American 2.3%
Asian 1.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 56.2% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 7
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 7.0
Students per counselor 300:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 25.6%
In-school suspensions 243
Out-of-school suspensions 106
Expulsions 70
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Comal Isd, which includes Smithson Valley H S.
$13,262
Per student
-23%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-32%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 81.2%
State 8.6%
Federal 10.1%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,414
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 2,093
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Enrollment
- 1,251
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
- Enrollment
- 1,233
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Enrollment
- 1,185
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
Similar high schools in Spring Branch
1 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
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 Smithson Valley H S
How many students attend Smithson Valley H S?
Smithson Valley H S has 2,098 students enrolled. It is a high school in SPRING BRANCH, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Smithson Valley H S?
The student-teacher ratio at Smithson Valley H S is 16:1, which is 10% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 1% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Smithson Valley H S?
13.8% of students at Smithson Valley H S are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Smithson Valley H S?
The largest demographic group at Smithson Valley H S is White at 56.2%. The school serves a diverse student body in SPRING BRANCH, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Smithson Valley H S?
Smithson Valley H S has a Resource Investment Index of 43/100 (D) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.