Summary:
The city of Friona, Texas, is served by the Friona Independent School District (Isd), which operates four schools—Friona High School, Friona J H, Friona Elementary, and Friona Pri—serving 1,016 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade in a rural, economically challenged area where free or reduced lunch eligibility ranges from 69% to 87% across campuses.
Among the schools, Friona High School stands out for its stability, boasting a perfect 100% graduation rate and a very low dropout rate of 0.3%, along with the highest per-student spending ($16,231) and the lowest student-teacher ratio (8.3:1). In contrast, Friona J H is a standout for advanced achievement, with an exceptional 92% proficiency rate on the Algebra I End-of-Course exam—far exceeding the state average of 54%—though it struggles with grade-level math proficiency. Friona Elementary faces the most significant challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 2% of Texas elementary schools, with alarmingly low test scores like only 5.6% of 5th graders proficient in science (state average: 29.6%). Friona Pri, serving the youngest students, has no test scores available, making it a data gap that obscures the quality of early education for its 87% economically disadvantaged population.
Key takeaways include a clear resource paradox: the high school, with the highest spending and smallest class sizes, performs best, while the elementary school, with the lowest spending and larger classes, performs worst. There is also a performance divide between elementary and secondary schools, with secondary campuses showing stronger results in subjects like Biology and English I. The district overall ranks 726 out of 951 in Texas (24th percentile, 1-star), highlighting systemic challenges that require targeted interventions, especially at the elementary level.
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