Summary
Alice High School in Alice, TX, is a large public high school serving 1,295 students in grades 9-12 within the Alice Independent School District (Isd), and it stands out as the area's largest school—nearly three times the size of nearby Orange Grove High School and over six times the size of Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School. The school serves a predominantly low socio-economic status population, with 86% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, and it has historically struggled with academic performance. However, recent data shows a dramatic turnaround: after years of ranking in the 15th to 22nd percentile statewide, the school jumped to the 39th percentile in the 2025-2026 school year, with Algebra I proficiency more than doubling from 20% to 48% and English I Reading improving from 39% to 49% in just two years.
Despite this progress, Alice High School faces significant challenges compared to its neighbors. Its graduation rate of 86.4% is the lowest among nearby schools, with most peers exceeding 90% (e.g., Santa Gertrudis Academy High School at 98.9% and Agua Dulce High School at 100%), while its dropout rate of 3.3% is the highest in the area—more than double the next highest. The school also has the largest student-teacher ratio at 18.1, compared to Banquete High School's 9.4 and Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco's 10.2, which may limit individualized attention for students. Per-student spending of $12,060 is in the middle of the pack, suggesting that resource allocation, not just funding, is key to improvement.
An interesting finding is that Alice High School's recent success is particularly strong for its Hispanic and low socio-economic status students, who now rank above the state average for those subgroups. However, the school struggles with its White students and English Language Learner (ELL) students, who rank in the 14th and 11th percentiles, respectively. Additionally, the performance of Gifted and Talented students has been volatile, dropping from the 61st percentile to the 12th percentile in one year, which warrants attention. Overall, Alice High School is on an upward trajectory, but it must address its high dropout rate, low graduation rate, and large class sizes to sustain this momentum and better serve all students.
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