Enrollment
249
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 484206004791
Taft H S — Taft, TX
Federal NCES profile for Taft H S, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 40/100.
👥 Class size 61
📚 AP courses 20
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 50
📋 Attendance 0
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)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.7:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
-34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
79.3%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
+28% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Taft 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
Taft H S reports 249 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 25.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 9.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 34% below the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 39% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 79.3% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 28% above the Texas average and 53% above the national baseline. The school offers 4 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 249 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 51.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Taft Isd spends $20,278 per pupil district-wide, above the Texas average of $17,150 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 47.1% from local sources (property taxes), 31.5% from the state, and 21.4% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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 Taft 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 | 9.7:1 | ▼ 34% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 79.3% | ▲ 28% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 249 | top 20% | — | — |
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
79.3%
free-lunch eligible
— 28% above the Texas average of 61.9%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
9.7:1
students per teacher
— 34% below state mean
Top 8% in Texas — lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
51.0%
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
$20,278
per pupil, district-wide
— above Texas avg of $17,150
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 249 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
41
in-school suspensions + 14 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 16.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 22.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 249 Top 20% in Texas — larger than 80% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 25.0
Students per teacher 9.7:1 -34% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 79.3% +28% vs state
NCES ID 484206004791
Student demographics
Hispanic or Latino 87.1%
White 10.8%
African American 0.8%
Two or More 0.8%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.4%
Largest group: Hispanic or Latino at 87.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 4
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 249:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 51.0%
In-school suspensions 41
Out-of-school suspensions 14
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Taft Isd, which includes Taft H S.
$20,278
Per student
+18%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
+4%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 47.1%
State 31.5%
Federal 21.4%
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
- 390
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 173
- Students per teacher
- 10:1
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 H S
How many students attend Taft H S?
Taft H S has 249 students enrolled. It is a high school in TAFT, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Taft H S?
The student-teacher ratio at Taft H S is 9.7:1, which is 34% lower than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 39% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Taft H S?
79.3% of students at Taft H S are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Taft H S?
The largest demographic group at Taft H S is Hispanic or Latino at 87.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in TAFT, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Taft H S?
Taft H S has a Resource Investment Index of 40/100 (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.