Enrollment
424
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Elementary school (grades K-5) NCES 172058002345
Taft Elementary School — Joliet, IL
Federal NCES profile for Taft Elementary School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 33/100.
👥 Class size 18
🌟 Gifted program 30
📋 Attendance 51
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 →
The verdict
Taft Elementary School earns an F Resource Investment Index (33/100), with class sizes larger than 96% of Illinois schools.
- F
- Resource Index · 33/100
- 20.4:1
- large classes for Illinois
- 424
- students enrolled
School address
District: Joliet Psd 86 · Illinois
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)
19.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
20.4:1
vs 14.6:1 Illinois avg
+40% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Taft Elementary School compares with Illinois 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
Taft Elementary School reports 424 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 19.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 20.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 40% above the Illinois state mean of 14.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.7:1, it is 30% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 19.8% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Joliet Psd 86 spends $17,920 per pupil district-wide, above the Illinois average of $17,042 and above the national average of $16,593. Revenue comes 24.4% from local sources (property taxes), 63.0% from the state, and 12.5% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F), calculated from 3 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 Taft Elementary School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Illinois state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 20.4:1 | ▲ 40% | 14.6:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 424 | top 59% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Class size vs. every US school
Students per teacher (lower means more individual attention)
20 smaller classes than 14% of 92,598 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 2024-25
School size vs. every US school
Total enrollment — where this school sits by size (neither large nor small is 'better')
424 larger than 51% of 95,891 US schools
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US schools. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Education — NCES Common Core of Data · 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.
Staffing depth
20.4:1
students per teacher
— 40% above state mean
Top 96% in Illinois — lower ratio than 4% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
19.8%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$17,920
per pupil, district-wide
— above Illinois avg of $17,042
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
3
in-school suspensions + 9 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.7 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 424 Top 59% in Illinois — larger than 41% of 3,845 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 19.0
Students per teacher 20.4:1 +40% vs state
Free-lunch eligible —
NCES ID 172058002345
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 65.8%
White 13.9%
African American 13.4%
Two or More 5.9%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.2%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 65.8% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Counselors (FTE) 0.0
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 19.8%
In-school suspensions 3
Out-of-school suspensions 9
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Joliet Psd 86, which includes Taft Elementary School.
$17,920
Per student
+5%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
+8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 24.4%
State 63.0%
Federal 12.5%
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
- 1,072
- Students per teacher
- 15.8:1
- Enrollment
- 724
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Enrollment
- 653
- Students per teacher
- 12.2:1
- Enrollment
- 635
- Students per teacher
- 14:1
- Enrollment
- 621
- Students per teacher
- 18:1
Similar elementary schools in Joliet
6 comparable elementary schools (grades K-5) serving the same city.
Thomas Jefferson Elem Sch
Standard public school
646 students 14.1:1 students per teacher
Sator Sanchez Elem School
Standard public school
635 students 14:1 students per teacher
Pershing Elem School
Standard public school
621 students 18:1 students per teacher
Lynne Thigpen Elem School
Standard public school
620 students 16.4:1 students per teacher
Farragut Elem School
Standard public school
568 students 17.9:1 students per teacher
Jones Elementary School
Standard public school
553 students 15.3:1 students per teacher
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 Taft Elementary School
How many students attend Taft Elementary School?
Taft Elementary School has 424 students enrolled. It is a elementary school in Joliet, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Taft Elementary School?
The student-teacher ratio at Taft Elementary School is 20.4:1, which is 40% higher than the Illinois average of 14.6:1 and 30% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Taft Elementary School?
The largest demographic group at Taft Elementary School is Hispanic or Latino at 65.8%. The school serves a diverse student body in Joliet, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Taft Elementary School?
Taft Elementary School has a Resource Investment Index of 33/100 (F) based on 3 factors: student-teacher ratio, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.
Is Taft Elementary School a good school?
Taft Elementary School earns an F Resource Investment Index (33/100), with class sizes larger than 96% of Illinois schools. The Resource Investment Index reflects staffing, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance reported to NCES, not test scores or academic outcomes, so treat it as a resource snapshot rather than an overall rating.