Enrollment
414
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Port Arthur, TX
Taft El
Federal NCES profile for Taft El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 32/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 483543004022
👥 S:T ratio 39
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 17
📋 Attendance 40
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Taft El earns 32/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes near the Texas median.
- #13 of 20
- public schools in Port Arthur · Resource Index
- 32
- Resource Index · Typical
- 15.3:1
- students per teacher
- 55.6%
- free-lunch eligible
Taft El has class sizes near the Texas median. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Taft El ranks #13 of 20 public schools in Port Arthur, TX.
School address
District: Port Neches-Groves Isd · Texas
NCES ID 483543004022 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
27.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
15.3:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+4% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.6%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-10% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Taft El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Taft El
Taft El is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Port Arthur, Texas, enrolling 414 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 55.6% of students eligible for free meals.
With 414 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.
Among 1,203 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need Texas schools statewide, it ranks #1,137, in the lower tier once campus size and economic need are matched.
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 414 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance runs somewhat below the norm, with 23.9% of students chronically absent per the 2021-22 civil-rights collection.
Port Neches-Groves Isd also operates Port Neches-Groves H S (1,720 students) and Groves Middle (647 students) alongside Taft 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 Taft El compares
Taft 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 | 55.6% | ▼ 10% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 414 | top 62% | - | - |
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.
414
Bigger than 50% of US schools by enrollment, mid-sized for the country.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
55.6%
free-lunch eligible
- 10% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
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
23.9%
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
$11,122
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 414 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 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.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Port Neches-Groves Isd, which includes Taft El.
$11,122
Per student
-18%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-33%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 62.3%
State 26.4%
Federal 11.2%
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 Taft El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Neches-Groves H S | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Groves Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Port Neches Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Ridgewood El | Similar size | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Groves El | Similar size | Lower economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Taft El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,720
- Students per teacher
- 15.1:1
- Resource Index
- 44/100
- Enrollment
- 647
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 575
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Resource Index
- 38/100
- Enrollment
- 431
- Students per teacher
- 17.2:1
- Resource Index
- 43/100
- Enrollment
- 392
- Students per teacher
- 12.6:1
- Resource Index
- 51/100
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 (~414 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~15.3:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Taft El's federal record.
- Compare Taft El against another school. Compare schools
- Port Neches-Groves 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 Taft El
How many students attend Taft El?
Taft El has 414 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Port Arthur, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Taft El?
The student-teacher ratio at Taft 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 Taft El?
55.6% of students at Taft El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Taft El?
Taft El has a Resource Investment Index of 32/100 (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 Taft El rank among public schools in Port Arthur?
By Resource Investment Index, Taft El ranks #13 of 20 public schools in Port Arthur, TX. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Port Arthur on the city page.
Is Taft El a good school?
Taft El earns 32/100 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 Port Neches-Groves Isd?
Besides Taft El, Port Neches-Groves Isd also operates Port Neches-Groves H S (1,720 students), Groves Middle (647 students), and Port Neches Middle (575 students). See the Port Neches-Groves 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.