Enrollment
320
Elementary
DISTRICT 216 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BIG SANDY ISD·NCES 481014000469
Big Sandy Elementary School
401 WILDCAT DR, BIG SANDY, TX 75755 · (903) 636-5287 · Upshur County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL320 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Texas public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Texas public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.3:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
67%
215 students
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 41 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 38 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 47 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 58 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 35 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 50 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 51 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (38) is 25% smaller than its 5th grade class (51).
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within BIG SANDY ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
44.0%
TX avg 54.5% . -6.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
29.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +29.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 44 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 29 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are down about 6 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 29 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 15.0% | 29.0% | 27.0% | 29.0% |
| Mathematics | 6.0% | 23.0% | 25.0% | 46.0% |
Share of tested students at each STAAR level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
STAAR results by year
| School year | Reading | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 44.0% | 29.0% |
| 2024-25 | 54.0% | 48.0% |
| 2023-24 | 49.0% | 47.0% |
| 2022-23 | 33.0% | 33.0% |
| 2021-22 | 21.0% | 21.0% |
| 2020-21 | 50.0% | 0.0% |
% Meets Grade Level or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
46.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.0%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 45% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Texas's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Big Sandy Elementary School
Big Sandy Elementary School's state test result (46.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sandy Elementary School this school | 320 | 67.2% | 46.9% |
| Kountze Elementary School KOUNTZE | 336 | 67.3% | N/A |
| Coldspring Intermediate School COLDSPRING | 346 | 70.2% | 32.8% |
| Rusk Elementary School RUSK | 298 | 64.1% | 50.3% |
| W L Higgins Elementary School PARIS | 330 | 64.8% | N/A |
| Rusk Intermediate School RUSK | 301 | 63.8% | 46.2% |
Matched among Texas elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Big Sandy Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Upshur County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.9% | #1,745 of 4,401 | #6 of 8 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 29.0% | #3,975 of 4,466 ▼ 2,187 | #8 of 8 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 44.0% | #3,216 of 4,466 ▼ 1,230 | #7 of 8 ▼ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.5pp | #2,313 of 3,998 | #6 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 320 | #4,073 of 4,938 | #5 of 9 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.3:1 | #1,028 of 4,622 | #4 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.9% | #2,243 of 4,628 | #3 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 67.2% | #2,715 of 4,789 | #5 of 9 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.4% | #2,659 of 2,838 | N/A |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
320
+10 (+3%) vs 2020
-24% since 1990-91, when it was 423
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
was 11.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 320 | 24 | 13.3:1 | 67% (215) |
| 2023-24 | 326 | 24.5 | 13.3:1 | 79% (259) |
| 2022-23 | 337 | 26.4 | 12.8:1 | 77% (261) |
| 2020-21 | 310 | 26 | 11.9:1 | 73% (225) |
| 2017-18 | 328 | 26 | 12.6:1 | 62% (203) |
| 2015-16 | 327 | 27 | 12.1:1 | 68% (222) |
| 2010-11 | 365 | 31 | 11.8:1 | 74% (271) |
| 2000-01 | 385 | 31 | 12.4:1 | 51% (197) |
| 1990-91 | 423 | 27 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Big Sandy Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (328 to 320); teachers down 8% (26 to 24).
About Big Sandy Elementary School
Students in BIG SANDY, Texas, attend Big Sandy Elementary School, a small elementary school. The school's enrollment of 320 students covers pre-K through 5. For comparison, elementary schools in Texas average about 519 students.
Big Sandy Elementary School is a school in BIG SANDY ISD. The district has 3 schools and 649 students.
A majority of students at Big Sandy Elementary School, 66%, are White. Other reported shares: 16% Hispanic, 10% Black, and 7% multiracial. Upshur County's residents are about 79% White, 13 points above the school's share. Big Sandy Elementary School has a diversity index of 52%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Teachers at the school number 24 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 13.3:1. Among elementary schools in Texas, the typical ratio is 15.1:1. The school's lunch program data list 67% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The average for public schools in Upshur County is 59%.
Measured against Texas public elementary schools, Big Sandy Elementary School receives a B. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Big Sandy Elementary School scores 46.9% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 45.0%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Upshur County, median household income is about $66,208, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 18% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Big Sandy Elementary School is one of 25 public schools in Upshur County, which together enroll about 7,918 students.
Big Sandy High School is located less than a tenth of a mile from Big Sandy Elementary School. Other public schools within five miles: 3. The school's 46.9% average proficiency ranks 4th among 8 nearby schools.
Its NCES locale code is Rural: Distant: the school is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
The number of students grew from 310 to 320 over 4 years. The school's ratio rose from 11.9:1 to 13.3:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Upshur County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
42,567
Census ACS
Median income
$66,208
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
7,918 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in BIG SANDY ISD
- Big Sandy High SchoolHigh · 191 students
- Big Sandy Junior High SchoolMiddle · 138 students
Other schools in BIG SANDY
- Harmony High SchoolHigh · 273 students
- Harmony Elementary SchoolElementary · 263 students
- Harmony Junior High SchoolMiddle · 235 students
- Big Sandy High SchoolHigh · 191 students
- Big Sandy Junior High SchoolMiddle · 138 students
- Harmony Intermediate SchoolElementary · 124 students
Other Big Sandy Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Big Sandy Elementary. Big Sandy Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Big Sandy ElementaryMoundville, AL · 522 students
Nearby schools
- Big Sandy High School0.0 mi · 191
- Big Sandy Junior High School0.0 mi · 138
- Trinity Charter Schools - Big Sandy Campus2.4 mi · 18
- Hawkins H S / Middle School5.7 mi · 433
- Hawkins Elementary School5.7 mi · 378
- Winona Elementary School7.6 mi · 582
Frequently asked questions
About Big Sandy Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Big Sandy Elementary School?
Big Sandy Elementary School enrolls approximately 320 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Big Sandy Elementary School serve?
Big Sandy Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Big Sandy Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Big Sandy Elementary School is approximately 13.3:1 (24 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Big Sandy Elementary School?
At Big Sandy Elementary School, the student body is approximately 66% White, 16% Hispanic, 10% Black, 7% Two or more.
What district is Big Sandy Elementary School in?
Big Sandy Elementary School is part of BIG SANDY ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.