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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at CATHELENE THOMAS EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
435
Elementary
DISTRICT 327 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SLATON ISD·NCES 484044004581
Cathelene Thomas Elementary School
615 W LUBBOCK ST, SLATON, TX 79364 · (806) 828-5805 · Lubbock County
GRADES 01–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL435 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 22% of Texas public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- CThree-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
13.7:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
70%
304 students
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 65%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | 82 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 86 | 20% |
| Grade 3 | 77 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 103 | 24% |
| Grade 5 | 87 | 20% |
This year's 1st grade class (82) is 6% smaller than its 5th grade class (87).
Student demographics
51%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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within SLATON ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
42.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +2.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
34.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +4.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 34 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 2 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 20.0% | 22.0% | 24.0% | 34.0% |
| Mathematics | 11.0% | 23.0% | 27.0% | 39.0% |
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 | 42.0% | 34.0% |
| 2024-25 | 46.0% | 31.0% |
| 2023-24 | 45.0% | 35.0% |
| 2022-23 | 42.0% | 33.0% |
| 2021-22 | 50.0% | 21.0% |
| 2020-21 | 40.0% | 30.0% |
% 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
36.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.9%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% 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 Cathelene Thomas Elementary School
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cathelene Thomas Elementary School this school | 435 | 69.9% | 36.0% |
| H T Faulk Elementary School ARANSAS PASS | 432 | 73.6% | N/A |
| Orange Grove Primary School ORANGE GROVE | 409 | 68.5% | N/A |
| Ireland Elementary School ODESSA | 431 | 73.1% | 28.3% |
| R L Stevenson Primary School ALVIN | 461 | 71.8% | N/A |
| Gonzales Elementary School GONZALES | 500 | 72.6% | N/A |
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 Cathelene Thomas Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Lubbock County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.0% | #3,072 of 4,401 | #40 of 50 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #3,590 of 4,466 ▲ 108 | #43 of 52 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #3,500 of 4,466 ▼ 538 | #44 of 52 ▼ 12 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +0.5pp | #2,790 of 3,998 | #19 of 34 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 435 | #3,179 of 4,938 | #30 of 54 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #1,283 of 4,622 | #18 of 52 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.6% | #2,363 of 4,628 | #32 of 52 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 69.9% | #2,570 of 4,789 | #29 of 53 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.8% | #2,414 of 2,838 | #30 of 33 |
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
435
-8 (-2%) vs 2020
-31% since 1990-91, when it was 635
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 13.4:1
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 | 435 | 31.8 | 13.7:1 | 70% (304) |
| 2023-24 | 440 | 30.7 | 14.3:1 | 70% (307) |
| 2022-23 | 439 | 35 | 12.5:1 | 76% (334) |
| 2020-21 | 443 | 33 | 13.4:1 | 73% (322) |
| 2017-18 | 462 | 32.7 | 14.1:1 | 85% (394) |
| 2015-16 | 470 | 34 | 13.8:1 | 80% (375) |
| 2010-11 | 496 | 34 | 14.6:1 | 79% (390) |
| 2000-01 | 498 | 37 | 13.5:1 | 73% (364) |
| 1990-91 | 635 | 42 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cathelene Thomas Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (462 to 435); teachers down 3% (32.7 to 31.8).
About Cathelene Thomas Elementary School
A small elementary school in SLATON, Texas, Cathelene Thomas Elementary School is part of SLATON ISD. The school offers grades 1 through 5 and enrolls 435 students.
SLATON ISD counts 5 schools and 1,271 students, including Cathelene Thomas Elementary School.
Federal enrollment data show Cathelene Thomas Elementary School is 64% Hispanic. Other groups include 29% White, 4% Black, and 3% multiracial. The county population is about 36% Hispanic. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 51%.
Classroom staffing at Cathelene Thomas Elementary School totals 31.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 13.7:1. Statewide, elementary schools in Texas average 15.1:1. Federal data show 70% of students (304) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. On average, public schools in Lubbock County report 57%.
Cathelene Thomas Elementary School holds a C- allk12 Grade, placing it above 22% of Texas public elementary schools.
Test results at Cathelene Thomas Elementary School are 7.9 points below what its free or reduced-price lunch share predicts (36.0% actual, 43.9% predicted).
The county, Lubbock County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $64,155, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 33% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 11%. The county has 110 public schools and about 52,301 students.
Slaton Junior High School sits about 0.5 miles from Cathelene Thomas Elementary School. Around the school, 4 other public schools are within five miles. Cathelene Thomas Elementary School places 4th of 7 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Locale: Town: Distant. In NCES terms, the school is in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
In 2020-21, Cathelene Thomas Elementary School enrolled 443; in 2024-25, 435.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on special education services, counseling, and support programs here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Lubbock County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
318,884
Census ACS
Median income
$64,155
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
110
52,301 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in SLATON ISD
- Slaton High SchoolHigh · 359 students
- Slaton Junior High SchoolMiddle · 251 students
- Stephen F Austin Primary SchoolElementary · 218 students
- Slaton ISD DAEPMiddle · 8 students
- Lubbock Co J J Alternative Education ProgramElementary
Other schools in SLATON
- Slaton High SchoolHigh · 359 students
- Slaton Junior High SchoolMiddle · 251 students
- Stephen F Austin Primary SchoolElementary · 218 students
- Slaton ISD DAEPMiddle · 8 students
Nearby schools
- Slaton Junior High School0.5 mi · 251
- Slaton ISD DAEP0.5 mi · 8
- Slaton High School0.5 mi · 359
- Stephen F Austin Primary School0.6 mi · 218
- Southland School7.5 mi · 132
- Wilson School9.2 mi · 133
Frequently asked questions
About Cathelene Thomas Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Cathelene Thomas Elementary School?
Cathelene Thomas Elementary School enrolls approximately 435 students in grades 01-05.
What age range does Cathelene Thomas Elementary School serve?
Cathelene Thomas Elementary School serves students from grade 01 through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Cathelene Thomas Elementary School?
Approximately 13.7:1 students per teacher at Cathelene Thomas Elementary School.
How diverse is Cathelene Thomas Elementary School?
Cathelene Thomas Elementary School reports a student body of 29% White, 64% Hispanic, 4% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Cathelene Thomas Elementary School?
Cathelene Thomas Elementary School is overseen by SLATON ISD in Lubbock County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.