Enrollment
738
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Cleveland, TX
Tarkington El
Federal NCES profile for Tarkington El, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 48/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 484221006918
👥 S:T ratio 36
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 0
📋 Attendance 88
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Tarkington El earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 71% of Texas schools.
- #3 of 17
- public schools in Cleveland · Resource Index
- 48
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16:1
- large classes for Texas
- 55.0%
- free-lunch eligible
Tarkington El has class sizes larger than 71% of Texas schools. Computed live against every Texas school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Tarkington El ranks #3 of 17 public schools in Cleveland, TX.
School address
District: Tarkington Isd · Texas
NCES ID 484221006918 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
46.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16:1
vs 14.7:1 Texas avg
+9% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
55.0%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-11% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Tarkington El compares with Texas and U.S. medians
What stands out at Tarkington El
Tarkington El is a higher-need, mid-sized elementary school in Cleveland, Texas, enrolling 738 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16:1 puts it in the larger third of Texas schools by student-teacher ratio.
Economic need runs somewhat below the state's typical profile, with 55.0% of students eligible for free meals.
Enrollment of 738 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 1,372 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #227.
Its student body is led by White (78%) and Hispanic or Latino (18%) (diversity index 37/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 738 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Attendance holds up well here: only 4.9% of students were chronically absent, below the typical post-pandemic national figure.
Its district draws 23.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Tarkington Isd also operates Tarkington H S (544 students) and Tarkington Middle (411 students) alongside Tarkington 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 Tarkington El compares
Tarkington 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 | 16:1 | ▲ 9% | 14.7:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 55.0% | ▼ 11% | 61.9% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 738 | top 23% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16:1
Leaner classes than 38% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
738
Bigger than 82% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
55.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 11% 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
16:1
students per teacher
- 9% above state mean
Top 71% in Texas - lower ratio than 29% of state schools
Close to the 15:1 benchmark most often cited for individualized attention.
Engagement
4.9%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 5%, comfortably under the pre-pandemic national baseline for chronic absenteeism.
Funding equity
$11,668
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 738 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
17
in-school suspensions + 1 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 2.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 2.4 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
White 77.6%
Hispanic or Latino 17.5%
Two or More 3.4%
African American 0.8%
Asian 0.3%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 77.6% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 36.6/100
Simpson diversity index - at 36.6, Tarkington El is less mixed than the Texas school average of 44.7.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Tarkington Isd, which includes Tarkington El.
$11,668
Per student
-14%
vs Texas
Avg $13,644
-30%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.8%
State 42.8%
Federal 23.3%
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 Tarkington El Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tarkington H S | Smaller | Lower economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Tarkington Middle | Smaller | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| Tarkington Early Childhood School | Smaller | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Tarkington El's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 544
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Resource Index
- 50/100
- Enrollment
- 411
- Students per teacher
- 14.2:1
- Resource Index
- 47/100
- Enrollment
- 214
- Students per teacher
- 19.5:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
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 (~738 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Tarkington El's federal record.
- Compare Tarkington El against another school. Compare schools
- Tarkington 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 Tarkington El
How many students attend Tarkington El?
Tarkington El has 738 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Cleveland, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Tarkington El?
The student-teacher ratio at Tarkington El is 16:1, which is 9% higher than the Texas average of 14.7:1 and 2% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Tarkington El?
55.0% of students at Tarkington El are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tarkington El?
The largest demographic group at Tarkington El is White at 77.6% of enrollment, in Cleveland, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Tarkington El?
Tarkington El has a Resource Investment Index of 48/100 (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 Tarkington El rank among public schools in Cleveland?
By Resource Investment Index, Tarkington El ranks #3 of 17 public schools in Cleveland, 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 Cleveland on the city page.
Is Tarkington El a good school?
Tarkington El earns 48/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 71% 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 Tarkington Isd?
Besides Tarkington El, Tarkington Isd also operates Tarkington H S (544 students), Tarkington Middle (411 students), and Tarkington Early Childhood School (214 students). See the Tarkington 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.