Enrollment
720
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Sour Lake, TX
Sour Lake El
Federal NCES profile for Sour Lake El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 51/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 482241002250
👥 S:T ratio 39
🌟 Gifted program 70
📋 Attendance 45
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Sour Lake El earns 51/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- 51
- Resource Index · Higher
- 15.3:1
- students per teacher
- 37.5%
- free-lunch eligible
- 720
- students enrolled
Sour Lake El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Hardin-Jefferson Isd · Texas
NCES ID 482241002250 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
47.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
37.5%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-39% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Sour Lake El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Sour Lake El
Sour Lake El is a mid-sized combined-grade school in Sour Lake, Texas, enrolling 720 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 15.3:1 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 37.5% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 720 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 8,960 scored Texas schools.
Against 1,094 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #138.
Its student body is predominantly White (81% of enrollment) (diversity index 34/100).
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 21.8% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
The surrounding Hardin-Jefferson Isd spends $9,337 per pupil, 32% below the Texas average, a leaner-resourced district than most.
Its district draws 26.1% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Hardin-Jefferson Isd also operates Hardin-Jefferson H S (782 students) and Henderson Middle (656 students) alongside Sour Lake 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 Sour Lake El compares
Sour Lake 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 | 15.3:1 | ▲ 4% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 37.5% | ▼ 39% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 720 | top 25% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
15.3:1
Leaner classes than 44% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
720
Bigger than 81% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
37.5%
free-lunch eligible
- 39% 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
15.3:1
students per teacher
- 4% above state mean
Top 63% in Texas - lower ratio than 37% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
21.8%
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
$9,337
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
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
12
in-school suspensions + 3 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 1.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
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
White 80.6%
Hispanic or Latino 9.2%
African American 5.0%
Two or More 5.0%
Asian 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: White at 80.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 33.7/100
Simpson diversity index - at 33.7, Sour Lake El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Hardin-Jefferson Isd, which includes Sour Lake El.
$9,337
Per student
-32%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-44%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 39.4%
State 34.5%
Federal 26.1%
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.
How Sour Lake El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hardin-Jefferson H S | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Henderson Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| China El | Similar size | Higher economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| New Ae | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Sour Lake El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 782
- Students per teacher
- 14.8:1
- Resource Index
- 40/100
- Enrollment
- 656
- Students per teacher
- 18.7:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 600
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Resource Index
- 39/100
- Enrollment
- 3
- Students per teacher
- 3:1
- Resource Index
- 59/100
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 (~720 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Sour Lake El's federal record.
- Compare Sour Lake El against another school. Compare schools
- Hardin-Jefferson 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 Sour Lake El
How many students attend Sour Lake El?
Sour Lake El has 720 students enrolled. It is a public school in Sour Lake, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Sour Lake El?
The student-teacher ratio at Sour Lake El is 15.3:1, which is 4% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 3% lower than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Sour Lake El?
37.5% of students at Sour Lake El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Sour Lake El?
The largest demographic group at Sour Lake El is White at 80.6% of enrollment, in Sour Lake, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Sour Lake El?
Sour Lake El has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Sour Lake El a good school?
Sour Lake El earns 51/100 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 Hardin-Jefferson Isd?
Besides Sour Lake El, Hardin-Jefferson Isd also operates Hardin-Jefferson H S (782 students), Henderson Middle (656 students), and China El (600 students). See the Hardin-Jefferson 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.