Enrollment
654
Texas · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Middle school (grades 6-8) NCES 482493013255
Tom and Nita Nichols Middle — Burleson, TX
Federal NCES profile for Tom and Nita Nichols Middle, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 51/100.
👥 Class size 41
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 35
📋 Attendance 57
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
District: Joshua Isd · Texas
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)
41.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.8:1
vs 14.6:1 Texas avg
+1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
32.7%
vs 61.9% Texas avg
-47% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Tom and Nita Nichols Middle 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
Tom and Nita Nichols Middle reports 654 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 41.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.8:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 1% above the Texas state mean of 14.6:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 7% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 32.7% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 47% below the Texas average and 37% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 327 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 17.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Joshua Isd spends $12,316 per pupil district-wide, below the Texas average of $17,150 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 36.9% from local sources (property taxes), 47.4% from the state, and 15.6% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-), calculated from 4 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 Tom and Nita Nichols Middle 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 | 14.8:1 | ▲ 1% | 14.6:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 32.7% | ▼ 47% | 61.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 654 | top 68% | — | — |
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
32.7%
free-lunch eligible
— 47% below the Texas average of 61.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.8:1
students per teacher
— 1% above state mean
Top 54% in Texas — lower ratio than 46% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
17.0%
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
$12,316
per pupil, district-wide
— below Texas avg of $17,150
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 327 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
62
in-school suspensions + 38 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 9.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 15.3 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 654 Top 68% in Texas — larger than 32% of 9,061 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 41.0
Students per teacher 14.8:1 +1% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 32.7% -47% vs state
NCES ID 482493013255
Student demographics
White 65.1%
Hispanic or Latino 28.1%
Two or More 2.9%
African American 1.5%
Asian 1.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.9%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander 0.3%
Largest group: White at 65.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 2.0
Students per counselor 327:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 17.0%
In-school suspensions 62
Out-of-school suspensions 38
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Joshua Isd, which includes Tom and Nita Nichols Middle.
$12,316
Per student
-28%
vs Texas
Avg $17,150
-37%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 36.9%
State 47.4%
Federal 15.6%
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.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 1,313
- Students per teacher
- 12.3:1
- Enrollment
- 733
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 696
- Students per teacher
- 14.9:1
- Enrollment
- 670
- Students per teacher
- 15.5:1
- Enrollment
- 611
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
Similar middle schools in Burleson
3 comparable middle schools (grades 6-8) serving the same city.
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 Tom and Nita Nichols Middle
How many students attend Tom and Nita Nichols Middle?
Tom and Nita Nichols Middle has 654 students enrolled. It is a middle school in BURLESON, TX.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Tom and Nita Nichols Middle?
The student-teacher ratio at Tom and Nita Nichols Middle is 14.8:1, which is 1% higher than the Texas average of 14.6:1 and 7% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Tom and Nita Nichols Middle?
32.7% of students at Tom and Nita Nichols Middle are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Texas average of 61.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Tom and Nita Nichols Middle?
The largest demographic group at Tom and Nita Nichols Middle is White at 65.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in BURLESON, TX.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Tom and Nita Nichols Middle?
Tom and Nita Nichols Middle has a Resource Investment Index of 51/100 (C-) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.