Enrollment
686
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Houston, TX
Spence El
Federal NCES profile for Spence El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 21/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 480771010724
👥 S:T ratio 5
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 10
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Spence El earns 21/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 97% of Texas schools.
- #109 of 114
- elementary schools in Houston · Resource Index
- 21
- Resource Index · Lower
- 23.7:1
- large classes for Texas
- 93.3%
- free-lunch eligible
Spence El has class sizes larger than 97% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Spence El ranks #109 of 114 elementary schools in Houston, TX.
School address
Teachers (FTE)
29.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.7:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+61% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
93.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+51% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Spence El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Spence El
Spence El is a high-poverty, mid-sized elementary school in Houston, Texas, enrolling 686 students.
Class loads run heavy: 23.7:1 is larger than about 97% of Texas schools and 61% above the 14.7:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Economic need is high: 93.3% of students qualify for free meals, 51% above the Texas average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
Enrollment of 686 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 97% of the 8,960 Texas schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Among 1,529 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #1,450, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by Hispanic or Latino (69%) and African American (26%) (diversity index 45/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 549 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 35.9% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 23.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Aldine Isd also operates Macarthur H S (3,501 students) and Davis H S Aldine (3,184 students) alongside Spence 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 Spence El compares
Spence 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 | 23.7:1 | ▲ 61% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 93.3% | ▲ 51% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 686 | top 28% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
23.7:1
Leaner classes than 7% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
686
Bigger than 79% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
93.3%
free-lunch eligible
- 51% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
23.7:1
students per teacher
- 61% above state mean
Top 97% in Texas - lower ratio than 3% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
35.9%
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
$11,863
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
Counselors1.3 FTE
Per 549 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
31
in-school suspensions + 59 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 4.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 13.1 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 69.4%
African American 26.2%
Two or More 1.6%
Asian 1.3%
White 1.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.1%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 69.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 44.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 44.9, Spence El is about as mixed as the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Aldine Isd, which includes Spence El.
$11,863
Per student
-13%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-29%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.7%
State 42.7%
Federal 23.6%
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 Spence El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Macarthur H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Davis H S Aldine | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Nimitz H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Aldine H S | Larger | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Eisenhower H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Spence El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 3,501
- Students per teacher
- 20.7:1
- Resource Index
- 45/100
- Enrollment
- 3,184
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 2,651
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 2,481
- Students per teacher
- 17.7:1
- Resource Index
- 52/100
- Enrollment
- 2,262
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
Similar elementary 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 (~686 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~23.7:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Spence El's federal record.
- Compare Spence El against another school. Compare schools
- Aldine 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 Spence El
How many students attend Spence El?
Spence El has 686 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Houston, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Spence El?
The student-teacher ratio at Spence El is 23.7:1, which is 61% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 51% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Spence El?
93.3% of students at Spence El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Spence El?
The largest demographic group at Spence El is Hispanic or Latino at 69.4% of enrollment, in Houston, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Spence El?
Spence El has a Resource Investment Index of 21/100 (lower 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 Spence El rank among elementary schools in Houston?
By Resource Investment Index, Spence El ranks #109 of 114 elementary schools in Houston, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all elementary schools in Houston on the city page.
Is Spence El a good school?
Spence El earns 21/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 97% of Texas schools. 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 Aldine Isd?
Besides Spence El, Aldine Isd also operates Macarthur H S (3,501 students), Davis H S Aldine (3,184 students), and Nimitz H S (2,651 students). See the Aldine 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.