Best Public Schools in Center, TX

The city of Center, Texas, is served by six schools across two districts—the Center Independent School District (Isd) and the Excelsior Independent School District (Isd)—educating about 2,393 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, with a notable emphasis on economic disadvantage across the area.

Among the schools, Center High School stands out as a consistent performer, boasting a high 97.1% graduation rate and a very low 0.3% dropout rate, alongside strong year-over-year improvements in Algebra I and U.S. History. In contrast, Center Elementary faces significant academic challenges, with test scores well below state averages and a state ranking that dropped from the 24th percentile to the 4th percentile. Center Middle presents a paradox: while its 8th-grade math scores exceed state averages, its 6th and 7th-grade math scores are drastically low, yet a small group of advanced students achieved 100% proficiency in Algebra I. Excelsior Elementary, the only school in its district, has the smallest enrollment (86 students), the lowest student-to-teacher ratio (7.8:1), and the highest per-student spending ($17,885), but its academic performance is inconsistent—excelling in some areas like Biology and English I while posting 0% proficiency in others. F L Moffett Pri serves the youngest students (PK-2) with a less favorable 16:1 student-to-teacher ratio, while Roughrider Academy functions as a small alternative high school (43 students) with a strong 97.3% graduation rate, focusing on keeping at-risk students on track despite lower test scores.

Key takeaways include that small-school advantages like low ratios and high spending do not guarantee consistent success, as seen at Excelsior Elementary. The data also reveals "pockets of excellence," such as Center Middle's advanced math students and Excelsior's high EOC scores, showing that high achievement is possible even in schools with overall struggles. The district overall ranks in the 21st percentile, masking these varied realities, and the strong performance of Center High School despite a 74.77% poverty rate highlights that economic challenges do not always dictate outcomes.