Challenge Early College High School
Public high school in Houston, Texas · Houston ISD · Grades 9–12
Challenge Early College High School serves 485 students in grades 9–12 in Houston (Harris County). It is one of 273 schools in Houston ISD. By enrollment it is the 917th largest of 1,920 public high schools in Texas (median 457 students). With 19 students per full-time teacher, it has more students per teacher than the typical Texas high school (14).
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Rank and medians compare all 1,920 Texas high schools with enrollment listed on this site.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Students per teacher = students ÷ 25.46 full-time-equivalent teachers.
School facts
| School type | Regular School |
| Level | High |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| District | Houston ISD |
| County | Harris County |
| Area type | City, large |
| School meals | Free meals for every student (Community Eligibility Provision) |
| NCES school ID | 482364009609 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 directory and school characteristics; area type from NCES EDGE locale codes.
Compared with the district and Texas
| This school | Houston ISD | Texas high schools (median) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 485 | 176,727 | 457 |
| Students per teacher | 19 | 16.1 | 14 |
| Free or reduced-price lunch eligible | 81.4% | 79.3% | 63.8% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. District figures add up its schools. 90% of Texas high schools have fewer students per teacher than this school (share of schools with a lower ratio). State test results aren't published here yet.
Challenge Early College High School in context
Size
Of the 47 high schools in Houston ISD, Challenge Early College High School is the 33rd largest, with 0.3% of the district's students. The 8 nearest high schools are a median 1.8 miles away and have a median of 261 students, so Challenge Early College High School is larger than most of them.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 enrollment and school type. Share of district students = this school's students ÷ the district's students. Nearest schools by straight-line distance between NCES EDGE locations.
Grades
Its largest grade is grade 9 with 138 students, and its smallest is grade 12 with 106, against an average of 121 per grade. This year grade 12 has 23% fewer students than grade 9 (106 against 138). Each grade is a different group of students, so the gap is not a dropout or growth rate.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership by grade.
Students
Hispanic students are the largest group, at 80% of enrollment, a higher share than across Houston ISD (61.7%). Students from 5 of the 7 race and ethnicity groups NCES reports are enrolled.
81.4% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, against 79.3% across Houston ISD and a median of 63.8% for Texas high schools. Under the Community Eligibility Provision, every student can eat breakfast and lunch at no charge, and families fill out no meal application.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership and school lunch program data. District shares weight each school by its enrollment.
Teachers
Challenge Early College High School has 25.46 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 19 students per teacher. At the median Texas high school ratio of 14, a school with 485 students would have about 34.6 teachers, so Challenge Early College High School has 9.1 fewer.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Expected teachers = this school's students ÷ the median students per teacher of Texas high schools (14).
Location
NCES classifies its location as city, large, which means it is inside a principal city of 250,000 people or more. The nearest other high school is Liberty High School, 1.1 miles away in the same district. There are 23 high schools within 5 miles and 79 within 10 miles.
Source: NCES EDGE school locations and locale codes, 2024-25. Distances are straight lines.
Students by race and ethnicity
| Hispanic | 80% |
| Black | 8.9% |
| White | 5.8% |
| Asian | 4.7% |
| Two or more races | 0.6% |
52.4% of students are girls and 47.6% are boys.
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Students by grade
| Grade 9 | 138 |
| Grade 10 | 120 |
| Grade 11 | 121 |
| Grade 12 | 106 |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25 membership.
Location and contact
5601 W Loop S, Houston, TX 77081
Phone: (713)664-9712
Website: houstonisd.org
Locations: NCES EDGE. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Red: Challenge Early College High School. Blue: the nearest high schools.
Nearby high schools
| School | District | Distance | Students | Per teacher | Free/reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty High School | Houston ISD | 1.1 mi | 352 | 23.5 | 100% |
| Middle College H S at Hcc Gulfton | Houston ISD | 1.1 mi | 72 | 10.5 | 90.3% |
| Ser-Ninos Charter High School | Ser-Ninos Charter School | 1.3 mi | 169 | 12.6 | 95.9% |
| Excel Academy Education Transition Center | Excel Academy | 1.5 mi | 58 | 11.6 | 94.8% |
| Bellaire High School | Houston ISD | 2.2 mi | 3,216 | 19.3 | 57.6% |
| Lamar High School | Houston ISD | 2.3 mi | 2,968 | 19.7 | 47.2% |
| Premier H S - Houston (Sharpstown) | Premier High Schools | 2.5 mi | 91 | 35.1 | 93.4% |
| Southwest Public Schools College &career Prep Academy | Southwest Public Schools | 2.5 mi | 462 | 285.2 | 92.9% |
Source: NCES CCD 2024-25. Distance in a straight line between NCES EDGE locations.