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Which teacher or staff member at THOMAS ARNOLD EL deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,073
Elementary
DISTRICT 810 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SALADO ISD·NCES 483858013806
Thomas Arnold Elementary School
550 THOMAS ARNOLD RD, SALADO, TX 76571 · (254) 947-6900 · Bell County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL1,073 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
64 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.2:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
263 students
DISTRICT 21% · 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 | 94 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 140 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 168 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 150 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 157 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 200 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 164 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (140) is 15% smaller than its 5th grade class (164).
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · 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 SALADO ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
65.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +50.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
56.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +41.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 56 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 50 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 41 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 33.0% | 32.0% | 21.0% | 14.0% |
| Mathematics | 30.0% | 26.0% | 26.0% | 18.0% |
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 | 65.0% | 56.0% |
| 2024-25 | 64.0% | 57.0% |
| 2023-24 | 60.0% | 50.0% |
| 2022-23 | 30.0% | 21.0% |
| 2021-22 | 27.0% | 20.0% |
| 2020-21 | 15.0% | 15.0% |
% 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
55.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.2%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% 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 Thomas Arnold Elementary School
Thomas Arnold Elementary School's state test result (55.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Arnold Elementary School this school | 1,073 | 24.5% | 55.5% |
| Veramendi Elementary School NEW BRAUNFELS | 935 | 21.0% | 55.0% |
| Barbers Hill El North MONT BELVIEU | 835 | 25.7% | 81.5% |
| Johnson Ranch Elementary School BULVERDE | 1,185 | 19.4% | 67.0% |
| La Vernia Intermediate School LA VERNIA | 852 | 31.1% | 56.0% |
| Dripping Springs Elementary School DRIPPING SPRINGS | 1,104 | 15.5% | 63.5% |
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 Thomas Arnold Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Bell County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.5% | #1,023 of 4,401 | #4 of 54 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.0% | #1,255 of 4,466 ▼ 154 | #6 of 55 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.0% | #1,063 of 4,466 ▲ 76 | #8 of 55 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +35.0pp | #81 of 3,998 | #3 of 50 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,073 | #59 of 4,938 | #2 of 62 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.9:1 | #3,832 of 4,622 | #49 of 57 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.0% | #2,421 of 4,628 | #52 of 57 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 24.5% | #4,339 of 4,789 | #58 of 59 |
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
1,073
+120 (+13%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
was 15.1:1
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 | 1,073 | 63.5 | 16.9:1 | 25% (263) |
| 2023-24 | 1,031 | 66.1 | 15.6:1 | 27% (280) |
| 2022-23 | 1,029 | 67.3 | 15.3:1 | 32% (331) |
| 2020-21 | 953 | 63 | 15.1:1 | 29% (277) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thomas Arnold Elementary School.
About Thomas Arnold Elementary School
Students in SALADO, Texas, attend Thomas Arnold Elementary School, a large elementary school. School enrollment was 1,073 students in 2024-25, in pre-K through 5. The average among elementary schools in Texas is roughly 519 students; this school is 107% larger than that.
Across its 3 schools, SALADO ISD enrolls 2,429 students. Thomas Arnold Elementary School is one of those schools.
At 65%, White students outnumber all other groups at Thomas Arnold Elementary School combined. It is also 28% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. Bell County's residents are about 49% White, 15 points below the school's share. The chance that two students picked at random at Thomas Arnold Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 50%.
Teachers at Thomas Arnold Elementary School total 63.5 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 16.9:1. The 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas is lower than this school's figure. The school counts 263 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 25%. Compared with the 57% average for public schools in Bell County, the school's rate is lower.
The model predicts 63.2% for a school in Texas with Thomas Arnold Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Thomas Arnold Elementary School posts 55.5%.
Federal survey data for Bell County show that median household income is about $68,865, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 27% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. A total of 130 public schools operate in Bell County, serving about 71,041 students.
The closest other public school is Salado Middle School, about 0.8 miles away. There are 2 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Thomas Arnold Elementary School at 2nd of 8.
Thomas Arnold Elementary School is in rural territory some distance from an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Distant.
The student count in 2024-25 was 1,073, 13% above the 953 of 2020-21. The number of students per teacher rose from 15.1 to 16.9 over 4 years.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Bell County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
386,897
Census ACS
Median income
$68,865
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
27%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
130
71,041 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in SALADO ISD
- Salado High SchoolHigh · 769 students
- Salado Middle SchoolMiddle · 587 students
- Bell Co JJAEPElementary
- Salado Esy Elementary SchoolCombined
Other schools in SALADO
- Salado High SchoolHigh · 769 students
- Salado Middle SchoolMiddle · 587 students
- Salado Esy Elementary SchoolCombined
Nearby schools
- Salado Middle School0.8 mi · 587
- Salado High School1.2 mi · 769
- Cedar Crest6.3 mi · 75
- Chisholm Trail Elementary School7.8 mi · 766
- Hubbard Branch Elementary School7.9 mi · 514
- South Belton Middle School8.1 mi · 667
Frequently asked questions
About Thomas Arnold Elementary SchoolHow large is Thomas Arnold Elementary School?
Thomas Arnold Elementary School enrolls approximately 1,073 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Thomas Arnold Elementary School serve?
Thomas Arnold Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thomas Arnold Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Thomas Arnold Elementary School is approximately 16.9:1 (64 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Thomas Arnold Elementary School?
At Thomas Arnold Elementary School, the student body is approximately 65% White, 28% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Thomas Arnold Elementary School in?
Thomas Arnold Elementary School is part of SALADO ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.