Hornedo Middle

Hornedo Middle in El Paso, TX, is a large, high-performing school serving 1,442 students in grades 6-8 within the El Paso Independent School District (Isd), consistently ranking among the top schools in the state for nearly a decade.

Hornedo stands out dramatically from nearby schools due to its exceptional academic performance across all subjects. For example, 8th-grade reading proficiency (77.64%) is over 22 percentage points higher than the state average, far exceeding the next closest neighbor, Brown Middle (59.46%). The school's most significant advantage is its Algebra I program, where 8th graders achieve a 76.53% proficiency rate—22.5 points above the state average. This contrasts sharply with many nearby schools like Richardson Middle, Wiggs Middle, and Magoffin Middle, which reported 0% proficiency in 7th-grade math, suggesting Hornedo successfully accelerates students into advanced coursework. Even Parkland Pre-Engineering Middle, a magnet school in the Ysleta Independent School District (Isd) that ranks in the 66th percentile, trails Hornedo in most core subjects.

Hornedo achieves these results with a student-teacher ratio of 17.8, higher than many lower-performing peers like Charles Middle (12.3), indicating efficient use of resources through strong teaching and school culture. The school is also highly effective with diverse student populations, ranking in the 84th percentile for low socio-economic status students despite 39% of its students being economically disadvantaged. However, one area for improvement is its Gifted and Talented program, which ranks in the 40th percentile—a notable weakness for an otherwise outstanding school. While its statewide rank has slightly declined from a peak of 94th percentile to 84th percentile, its test scores have remained stable, suggesting other schools are improving rather than Hornedo declining.