Enrollment
334
Elementary
DISTRICT 515 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOUSTON ISD·NCES 482364002459
Foster Elementary School
3919 WARD ST, HOUSTON, TX 77021 · (713) 746-8260 · Harris County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL334 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.7:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
334 students
DISTRICT 84% · 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 | 76 | 23% |
| Kindergarten | 40 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 42 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 35 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 45 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 50 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (40) is 20% smaller than its 5th grade class (50).
Student demographics
22%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
Foster Elementary School→Cullen Middle School
Based on published attendance-zone data from HOUSTON ISD. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
36.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +19.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
21.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +21.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 21 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 19 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 21 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 9.0% | 27.0% | 26.0% | 38.0% |
| Mathematics | 7.0% | 14.0% | 28.0% | 51.0% |
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 | 36.0% | 21.0% |
| 2024-25 | 35.0% | 23.0% |
| 2023-24 | 37.0% | 23.0% |
| 2022-23 | 77.0% | 62.0% |
| 2021-22 | 60.0% | 70.0% |
| 2020-21 | 17.0% | 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
25.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.0%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 26% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% 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 Foster Elementary School
Foster Elementary School's state test result (25.8% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foster Elementary School this school | 334 | 100.0% | 25.8% |
| Texas Empowerment Academy Elementary School AUSTIN | 303 | 99.7% | N/A |
| Young Elementary School HOUSTON | 334 | 98.5% | 43.5% |
| Thompson Elementary School HOUSTON | 363 | 95.9% | 48.3% |
| Codwell Elementary School HOUSTON | 342 | 95.3% | 28.4% |
| Kashmere Gardens Elementary School HOUSTON | 329 | 98.5% | 31.4% |
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 Foster Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Harris County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.8% | #3,995 of 4,401 | #585 of 624 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.0% | #4,344 of 4,466 ▼ 147 | #621 of 625 ▼ 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.0% | #3,998 of 4,466 ▼ 107 | #575 of 625 ▼ 19 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -41.0pp | #5 of 3,998 | #1 of 603 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 334 | #3,988 of 4,938 | #591 of 682 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.7:1 | #3,738 of 4,622 | #509 of 657 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 21.7% | #3,702 of 4,628 | #541 of 657 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #12 of 4,789 | #5 of 671 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.4% | #1,069 of 2,838 | #203 of 441 |
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
334
-44 (-12%) vs 2020
-53% since 1990-91, when it was 711
Student : Teacher
16.7:1
was 14.5:1
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 | 334 | 20 | 16.7:1 | 100% (334) |
| 2023-24 | 363 | 24 | 15.1:1 | 100% (363) |
| 2022-23 | 380 | 24.5 | 15.5:1 | 100% (379) |
| 2020-21 | 378 | 26 | 14.5:1 | 100% (377) |
| 2017-18 | 425 | 25 | 17.0:1 | 99% (420) |
| 2015-16 | 435 | 26 | 16.7:1 | 97% (420) |
| 2010-11 | 525 | 32 | 16.4:1 | 39% (203) |
| 2000-01 | 701 | 35 | 20.0:1 | 91% (636) |
| 1990-91 | 711 | 35 | 20.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Foster Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 21% (425 to 334); teachers down 20% (25 to 20).
About Foster Elementary School
Foster Elementary School is one of the public schools in HOUSTON, Texas. It is a small elementary school. Enrolled students number 334 students, in pre-K through 5. Statewide, elementary schools in Texas average about 519 students each.
HOUSTON ISD runs 273 schools with a combined 176,727 students. Foster Elementary School is one of them.
The large majority of students at Foster Elementary School, 88%, are Black. Next come 9% Hispanic. The county population is about 19% Black. The chance that two students picked at random at Foster Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 22%.
The teaching staff at Foster Elementary School is 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 16.7:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Texas is 15.1:1, lower than at this school. About 100% of students, or 334, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The 70% average for public schools in Harris County is 30 points lower.
Foster Elementary School scores 25.8% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 31.0%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Harris County, median household income is about $74,983, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 34%, and about 13% of people live in poverty. A total of 1,205 public schools operate in Harris County, serving about 886,911 students.
The next-closest public school is Cullen Middle School, about 0.2 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Local comparison: Foster Elementary School ranks 9th of 9 nearby schools, at 25.8% versus a 40.2% average.
NCES assigns Foster Elementary School the locale City: Large, meaning inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
The number of students dropped from 378 to 334 over 4 years. The school's ratio rose from 14.5:1 to 16.7:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Harris County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
4,838,303
Census ACS
Median income
$74,983
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,205
886,911 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in HOUSTON ISD
- Texas Connections Academy at HoustonCombined · 8,641 students
- Bellaire High SchoolHigh · 3,216 students
- Lamar High SchoolHigh · 2,968 students
- Westside High SchoolHigh · 2,729 students
- Heights High SchoolHigh · 2,426 students
- Houston Math Science and Technology CenterHigh · 2,396 students
Other schools in HOUSTON
- Texas Connections Academy at HoustonCombined · 8,641 students
- North Shore Senior HighHigh · 4,284 students
- Elsik High SchoolHigh · 4,057 students
- Summer Creek High SchoolHigh · 3,972 students
- Hastings High SchoolHigh · 3,786 students
- C E King High SchoolHigh · 3,716 students
Other Foster Elementary schools
10 other US public schools in 5 states are named Foster Elementary. Foster Elementary School is the 9th largest of the 11.
- Foster Elementary SchoolARLINGTON, TX · 524 students
- Foster Elementary SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 370 students
- Foster Elementary SchoolRIESEL, TX · 355 students
- Foster Elementary SchoolKINGWOOD, TX · 343 students
- Foster ElementarySan Diego, CA · 518 students
Nearby schools
- Cullen Middle School0.2 mi · 310
- Thompson Elementary School0.9 mi · 363
- Beatrice Mayes Institute Charter School1.1 mi · 558
- Hartsfield Elementary School1.1 mi · 287
- Whidby Elementary School1.1 mi · 369
- YES Prep - Southside1.5 mi · 860
Frequently asked questions
About Foster Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Foster Elementary School?
Foster Elementary School enrolls approximately 334 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Foster Elementary School serve?
Foster Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Foster Elementary School?
Approximately 16.7:1 students per teacher at Foster Elementary School.
How diverse is Foster Elementary School?
Foster Elementary School reports a student body of 2% White, 9% Hispanic, 88% Black, 2% Two or more.
What district is Foster Elementary School in?
Foster Elementary School is part of HOUSTON ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.