1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at THOMAS EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
378
Elementary
DISTRICT 502 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ABILENE ISD·NCES 480744002241
Thomas Elementary School
1240 LAKESIDE DR, ABILENE, TX 79602 · (325) 671-4995 · Taylor County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL378 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
282 students
DISTRICT 69% · 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 | 1 | 0% |
| Kindergarten | 59 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 59 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 72 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 63 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 67 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (59) is 12% smaller than its 5th grade class (67).
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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 2024-25 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
42.0%
TX avg 53.3% . +11.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
35.0%
TX avg 43.3% . -3.0pp 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 35 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 53 and 43. Reading scores are up about 11 points since 2020, while math scores are down about 3 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 16.0% | 26.0% | 17.0% | 41.0% |
| Mathematics | 16.0% | 19.0% | 22.0% | 43.0% |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.0% | 35.0% |
| 2023-24 | 47.0% | 35.0% |
| 2022-23 | 35.0% | 35.0% |
| 2021-22 | 40.0% | 60.0% |
| 2020-21 | 31.0% | 38.0% |
% 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
37.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.8%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% 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 Elementary School
Thomas Elementary School's state test result (37.3% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Elementary School this school | 378 | 74.6% | 37.3% |
| George Washington Carver El Academy AMARILLO | 321 | 76.3% | 38.3% |
| Stewart Elementary School HITCHCOCK | 355 | 80.3% | 26.4% |
| J T Stevens Elementary School FORT WORTH | 361 | 70.6% | 30.1% |
| Donna Park HURST | 439 | 72.7% | 49.0% |
| Audre and Bernard Rapoport Academy WACO | 396 | 78.3% | 22.8% |
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 Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Taylor County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.3% | #2,912 of 4,401 | #14 of 19 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #3,411 of 4,466 ▼ 190 | #13 of 19 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #3,423 of 4,466 ▼ 633 | #14 of 19 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -11.5pp | #264 of 3,998 | #4 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 378 | #3,671 of 4,938 | #18 of 23 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.4:1 | #1,073 of 4,622 | #2 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.7% | #739 of 4,628 | #4 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 74.6% | #2,295 of 4,789 | #8 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.2% | #1,495 of 2,838 | #7 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
378
-14 (-4%) vs 2020
-29% since 2000-01, when it was 534
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
was 13.1:1
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 | 378 | 28.2 | 13.4:1 | 75% (282) |
| 2023-24 | 389 | 28 | 13.9:1 | 80% (312) |
| 2022-23 | 414 | 26.6 | 15.6:1 | 75% (309) |
| 2020-21 | 392 | 30 | 13.1:1 | 71% (280) |
| 2017-18 | 451 | 31.9 | 14.1:1 | 75% (337) |
| 2015-16 | 554 | 35 | 15.8:1 | 74% (411) |
| 2010-11 | 538 | 38 | 14.2:1 | 67% (358) |
| 2000-01 | 534 | 33 | 16.2:1 | 52% (278) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thomas Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (451 to 378); teachers down 12% (31.9 to 28.2).
About Thomas Elementary School
This page covers Thomas Elementary School, a small elementary school in ABILENE, Texas. It enrolled 378 students in pre-K through 5 for the 2024-25 school year. Statewide, elementary schools in Texas average about 519 students each.
ABILENE ISD is the district for Thomas Elementary School. It has 26 schools and 14,536 students.
Enrollment at Thomas Elementary School is mixed, with Hispanic students the largest group at 38%. Beyond that, enrollment is 37% Black, 20% White, 3% multiracial, and 2% Asian. In Taylor County overall, about 25% of residents are Hispanic. The chance that two students picked at random at Thomas Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 68%.
Teachers at the school number 28.2 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 13.4:1. The 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas is higher than this school's figure. Roughly 75% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Taylor County, the average is 53%.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Thomas Elementary School, the prediction is 41.8% and the result is 37.3%.
County data help place the school in context: in Taylor County, median household income is about $67,139, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 29% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 11%. The public schools of Taylor County number 54 and enroll about 24,159.
The closest other public school is Craig Middle School, about 0.8 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Mid-size, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 4%, from 392 to 378.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Taylor County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
145,863
Census ACS
Median income
$67,139
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
54
24,159 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in ABILENE ISD
- Abilene High SchoolHigh · 1,798 students
- Cooper High SchoolHigh · 1,570 students
- Mann Middle SchoolMiddle · 776 students
- Craig Middle SchoolMiddle · 771 students
- Madison Middle SchoolMiddle · 770 students
- Austin Elementary SchoolElementary · 729 students
Other schools in ABILENE
- Abilene High SchoolHigh · 1,798 students
- Cooper High SchoolHigh · 1,570 students
- Wylie High SchoolHigh · 1,537 students
- Wylie West Junior High SchoolMiddle · 1,038 students
- Texas Leadership of AbileneCombined · 834 students
- Mann Middle SchoolMiddle · 776 students
Other Thomas Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 6 states are named Thomas Elementary. Thomas Elementary School is the 5th largest of the 7.
- Thomas Elementary SchoolPLANO, TX · 687 students
- Thomas ElementaryFresno, CA · 859 students
- Thomas Elementary SchoolFranklinton, LA · 721 students
- Thomas Elementary SchoolCarbondale, IL · 400 students
- Thomas Elementary SchoolThomas, OK · 260 students
Nearby schools
- Craig Middle School0.8 mi · 771
- Mullin New Horizons Abiliene1.1 mi · 13
- Triumph Public High Schools-Abilene1.2 mi · 85
- DAEP1.3 mi · 96
- Woodson Center for Excellence1.3 mi · 112
- Juvenile Detention Center1.4 mi · 11
Frequently asked questions
About Thomas Elementary SchoolHow large is Thomas Elementary School?
Thomas Elementary School enrolls approximately 378 students in grades PK-05.
Is Thomas Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Thomas Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Thomas Elementary School have?
Thomas Elementary School employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.4:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Thomas Elementary School?
At Thomas Elementary School, the student body is approximately 20% White, 38% Hispanic, 37% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Thomas Elementary School public or private?
Thomas Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by ABILENE ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.