Summary
Martin High School in Laredo, TX, is a large traditional public high school serving nearly 2,000 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Laredo Independent School District (Isd), where over 99% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating extremely high economic need. While the school boasts a strong graduation rate of 94.8% and a very low dropout rate of 0.1%, its academic performance on state assessments is a critical concern, consistently ranking in the bottom 12-18% of Texas high schools for the past nine years. This creates a paradox where students are graduating but often lack foundational skills in reading and math, as seen in the English II Reading STAAR exam, where only 5.02% of students were proficient in 2025-2026—far below the state average of 59.88% and the lowest among comparable schools in the area.
When compared to nearby schools, Martin High School's academic challenges become even more stark. For instance, United South High School in the United Independent School District (Isd) outperformed Martin by a massive margin in Algebra I (72.45% vs. 28%) and English II Reading (55.25% vs. 5.02%). Similarly, the charter school Harmony School Of Excellence - Laredo achieved a 75.82% proficiency rate in U.S. History compared to Martin's 43.95%. Within its own district, Martin generally outperforms Dr Leo Cigarroa High School but is comparable to or slightly behind Nixon High School, though Nixon's Algebra I proficiency (44.29%) was significantly higher than Martin's (28%).
Despite these struggles, Martin High School has a notable strength in serving Special Education students, ranking in the 84th percentile statewide with a 4-star rating in 2024-2025. However, the school's per-student spending ($11,198) is higher than that of high-performing United South High School ($9,734) and Nixon High School ($10,397), suggesting that funding alone is not the issue. The district's highest-performing school, Hector J Garcia Early College High School, ranks in the 98th percentile statewide but is a selective magnet program with only 392 students, masking the challenges faced by larger comprehensive schools like Martin. For parents, this means Martin High School offers strong support for special education and keeps students on track to graduate, but families should be aware of the critically low academic proficiency, especially in reading, and consider how this aligns with their child's needs.
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