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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at HELMS EL this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
501
Elementary
DISTRICT 515 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOUSTON ISD·NCES 482364002484
Helms Elementary School
503 W 21ST ST, HOUSTON, TX 77008 · (713) 867-5130 · Harris County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL501 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
49%
245 students
DISTRICT 84% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 52 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 93 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 72 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 76 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 73 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 66 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 69 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (93) is 35% larger than its 5th grade class (69).
Student demographics
39%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
Helms Elementary School→Hamilton 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
64.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +42.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
66.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +43.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 64 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 66 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 42 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 43 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 38.0% | 26.0% | 20.0% | 16.0% |
| Mathematics | 42.0% | 24.0% | 15.0% | 19.0% |
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 | 64.0% | 66.0% |
| 2024-25 | 57.0% | 65.0% |
| 2023-24 | 65.0% | 53.0% |
| 2022-23 | 51.0% | 59.0% |
| 2021-22 | 45.0% | 41.0% |
| 2020-21 | 22.0% | 23.0% |
% 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
59.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
52.8%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 59% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 53% 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 Helms Elementary School
Helms Elementary School's state test result (59.2% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helms Elementary School this school | 501 | 48.9% | 59.2% |
| Wanke Elementary School SAN ANTONIO | 590 | 49.5% | 42.6% |
| Ramirez Elementary School LUBBOCK | 470 | 45.7% | 60.9% |
| Jones Elementary School CORPUS CHRISTI | 520 | 54.4% | 51.9% |
| Scobee Elementary School SAN ANTONIO | 470 | 47.7% | 49.0% |
| Ricardo Elementary School KINGSVILLE | 449 | 51.0% | 58.1% |
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 Helms Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Harris County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.2% | #811 of 4,401 | #90 of 624 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #586 of 4,466 ▲ 15 | #65 of 625 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 64.0% | #1,113 of 4,466 ▲ 592 | #128 of 625 ▲ 78 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +10.0pp | #1,472 of 3,998 | #233 of 603 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 501 | #2,535 of 4,938 | #469 of 682 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.3:1 | #3,994 of 4,622 | #552 of 657 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 39.2% | #3,098 of 4,628 | #434 of 657 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 48.9% | #3,627 of 4,789 | #568 of 671 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.0% | #992 of 1,307 | #106 of 148 |
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
501
+19 (+4%) vs 2020
+10% since 1990-91, when it was 455
Student : Teacher
17.3:1
was 16.1:1
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 | 501 | 29 | 17.3:1 | 49% (245) |
| 2023-24 | 481 | 30 | 16.0:1 | 51% (245) |
| 2022-23 | 485 | 28 | 17.3:1 | 55% (267) |
| 2020-21 | 482 | 30 | 16.1:1 | 55% (267) |
| 2017-18 | 477 | 30.6 | 15.6:1 | 64% (306) |
| 2015-16 | 494 | 32 | 15.4:1 | 74% (368) |
| 2010-11 | 533 | 30 | 17.8:1 | 45% (239) |
| 2000-01 | 420 | 17 | 24.7:1 | 87% (366) |
| 1990-91 | 455 | 23 | 19.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Helms Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (477 to 501); teachers down 5% (30.6 to 29).
About Helms Elementary School
Helms Elementary School is one of the public schools in HOUSTON, Texas. It is a medium-sized elementary school. The school serves 501 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25.
Besides Helms Elementary School, HOUSTON ISD runs 272 other schools. The district enrolls 176,727 students.
At Helms Elementary School, Hispanic students make up 76% of the student body. The next largest groups are 14% White, 4% Black, 3% multiracial, and 2% Asian. The school's Hispanic share is 32 points above the 44% share among Harris County residents. The school's diversity index is 39%, meaning two students picked at random have a 39% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The count of teachers at Helms Elementary School is 29 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 17.3:1. That is 2.2 students per teacher above the 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas. Around 49% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. That rate is below the 70% average among public schools in Harris County.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 59.2%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 52.8%.
Helms Elementary School is located in Harris County, where the median household income is $74,983, 34% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Helms Elementary School is one of 1,205 public schools in the county.
Hamilton Middle School is the public school closest to Helms Elementary School, about 0.5 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. On average proficiency, Helms Elementary School is 2nd of 8 nearby schools with test data.
Locale: City: Large. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over 4 years, Helms Elementary School's enrollment grew 4%, to 501. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 16.1:1 in 2020-21 to 17.3:1 in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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
Nearby schools
- Hamilton Middle School0.5 mi · 911
- Love Elementary School0.8 mi · 340
- Houston Heights Charter School0.9 mi · 192
- Heights High School1.1 mi · 2,426
- Field Elementary School1.1 mi · 507
- Garden Oaks Montessori1.3 mi · 763
Frequently asked questions
About Helms Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Helms Elementary School?
Helms Elementary School enrolls approximately 501 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Helms Elementary School serve?
Helms Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Helms Elementary School?
Approximately 17.3:1 students per teacher at Helms Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Helms Elementary School?
At Helms Elementary School, the student body is approximately 14% White, 76% Hispanic, 4% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Helms Elementary School public or private?
Helms Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by HOUSTON ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.