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How has RICE EL changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
613
Elementary
DISTRICT 529 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TYLER ISD·NCES 484347004946
Rice Elementary School
5215 OLD BULLARD RD, TYLER, TX 75703 · (903) 262-2555 · Smith County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL613 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 39% 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.
- 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.
- FThree-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
15.8:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.1:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
374 students
DISTRICT 77% · 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 | 59 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 82 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 77 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 107 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 96 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 87 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 105 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (82) is 22% smaller than its 5th grade class (105).
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
46.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +15.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
36.0%
TX avg 45.3% . -14.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 36 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 15 points since 2020, while math scores are down about 14 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 22.0% | 24.0% | 29.0% | 25.0% |
| Mathematics | 17.0% | 19.0% | 24.0% | 40.0% |
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 | 46.0% | 36.0% |
| 2024-25 | 52.0% | 48.0% |
| 2023-24 | 51.0% | 41.0% |
| 2022-23 | 50.0% | 75.0% |
| 2021-22 | 70.0% | 30.0% |
| 2020-21 | 31.0% | 50.0% |
% 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
45.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.6%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Rice Elementary School
Rice Elementary School's state test result (45.1% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice Elementary School this school | 613 | 61.0% | 45.1% |
| Smith Elementary School PRINCETON | 623 | 58.7% | 48.0% |
| J L Williams/Lovett Ledger Elementary School COPPERAS COVE | 635 | 62.4% | 40.0% |
| Rock Prairie Elementary School COLLEGE STATION | 538 | 61.7% | 41.3% |
| Southwood Valley Elementary School COLLEGE STATION | 656 | 61.9% | 40.8% |
| Stewart Elementary School HUNTSVILLE | 547 | 69.5% | 29.1% |
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 Rice Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Smith County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.1% | #1,953 of 4,401 | #15 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.0% | #3,396 of 4,466 ▼ 1,526 | #24 of 31 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.0% | #3,074 of 4,466 ▼ 774 | #19 of 31 ▼ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -21.5pp | #58 of 3,998 | #1 of 30 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 613 | #1,518 of 4,938 | #7 of 33 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #3,122 of 4,622 | #21 of 33 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.4% | #384 of 4,628 | #3 of 33 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.0% | #3,066 of 4,789 | #17 of 33 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.1% | #2,694 of 2,838 | #14 of 15 |
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
613
-1 (0%) vs 2020
-40% since 1990-91, when it was 1,029
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 15.7:1
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 | 613 | 38.9 | 15.8:1 | 61% (374) |
| 2023-24 | 647 | 40.5 | 16.0:1 | 62% (401) |
| 2022-23 | 680 | 41.9 | 16.2:1 | 60% (405) |
| 2020-21 | 614 | 39 | 15.7:1 | 62% (379) |
| 2017-18 | 626 | 38.3 | 16.3:1 | 46% (286) |
| 2015-16 | 679 | 38 | 17.9:1 | 44% (301) |
| 2010-11 | 841 | 52 | 16.2:1 | 34% (287) |
| 2000-01 | 786 | 45 | 17.5:1 | 17% (132) |
| 1990-91 | 1,029 | 51 | 20.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Rice Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (626 to 613); teachers up 1% (38.3 to 38.9).
About Rice Elementary School
Rice Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in Texas, with an address in TYLER. Grades offered run from pre-K through 5, with 613 students enrolled.
TYLER ISD (26 schools, 18,708 students) runs Rice Elementary School.
Federal enrollment data show White students as the largest group at Rice Elementary School, at 41%. Other groups make up 28% Black, 19% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, and 4% Asian. County-wide, 67% of Smith County residents are White. The school's diversity index is 71%, meaning two students picked at random have a 71% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Dividing enrollment by its 38.9 full-time-equivalent teachers gives a ratio of about 15.8:1. That is close to the 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas. Rice Elementary School reports 61% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That tracks the 64% average for public schools in Smith County.
allk12 grades Rice Elementary School a C+. The grade compares the school only with Texas public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Rice Elementary School is -2.5 points: 45.1% actual, 47.6% predicted.
According to the American Community Survey, in Smith County, the median household income is $74,192, roughly 29% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. There are 65 public schools in Smith County, enrolling about 37,385 students in all.
Tyler Legacy High School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.8 miles away. Within five miles of Rice Elementary School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Rice Elementary School is 6th of 7 on proficiency.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Mid-size, or inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Over 4 years, enrollment stayed close to where it was, going from 614 to 613.
Questions about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Smith County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
241,740
Census ACS
Median income
$74,192
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
65
37,385 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in TYLER ISD
- Tyler Legacy High SchoolHigh · 2,770 students
- Tyler High SchoolHigh · 2,148 students
- Moore Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,019 students
- Three Lakes Middle SchoolMiddle · 948 students
- Boulter Middle SchoolMiddle · 901 students
- Hubbard Middle SchoolMiddle · 869 students
Other schools in TYLER
- Tyler Legacy High SchoolHigh · 2,770 students
- Tyler High SchoolHigh · 2,148 students
- Moore Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,019 students
- Chapel Hill High SchoolHigh · 990 students
- Three Lakes Middle SchoolMiddle · 948 students
- Boulter Middle SchoolMiddle · 901 students
Other Rice Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 5 states are named Rice Elementary. Rice Elementary School is the 3rd largest of the 7.
- Rice Elementary SchoolCONROE, TX · 602 students
- Rice Elementary SchoolRICE, TX · 444 students
- Rice Elementary SchoolMountain Top, PA · 735 students
- Rice Elementary SchoolSan Carlos, AZ · 673 students
- Rice Elementary SchoolWELLINGTON, CO · 401 students
Nearby schools
- Tyler Legacy High School0.8 mi · 2,770
- Cumberland Academy Upper Elementary School1.1 mi · 392
- Hubbard Middle School1.2 mi · 869
- Cumberland Academy Lower Elementary School1.2 mi · 459
- Trinity Charter Schools - Virtual Reclaim Academy1.6 mi · 68
- Woods Elementary School1.8 mi · 810
Frequently asked questions
About Rice Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Rice Elementary School?
Rice Elementary School enrolls approximately 613 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Rice Elementary School serve?
Rice Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Rice Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Rice Elementary School is approximately 15.8:1 (39 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Rice Elementary School?
Rice Elementary School reports a student body of 41% White, 19% Hispanic, 28% Black, 4% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees Rice Elementary School?
Rice Elementary School is overseen by TYLER ISD in Smith County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.