Summary:
The Onalaska Independent School District (Onalaska Independent School District (Isd)) in Texas serves the city of Onalaska with two schools: Onalaska Elementary (grades PK-6) and Onalaska Junior/Senior High (grades 7-12), totaling 1,196 students. The district ranks in the 57th percentile statewide with a 3-star rating, and both schools serve a population where over half of students are economically disadvantaged.
Onalaska Junior/Senior High stands out as the district's high achiever, particularly in English Language Arts and Social Studies. In the 2025-2026 school year, English II Reading scores (71.25% proficient) were 11 points above the state average, and 8th Grade Social Studies (46.99% proficient) was 15 points higher. The school also boasts a 95.1% graduation rate and a 0% dropout rate. However, it has a critical weakness in 7th-grade math, where only 1.67% of students were proficient—a catastrophic 28-point gap below the state average. In contrast, Onalaska Elementary is a steady performer, with reading scores at or above state averages across most grades, but math results are mixed: 3rd and 6th grade math outperform the state, while 4th and 5th grade math fall well below.
The most alarming finding is the "math cliff" between 6th and 7th grade: 6th-grade math proficiency was 48.98% (10 points above the state), but it collapsed to 1.67% in 7th grade, suggesting a severe systemic issue with curriculum or instruction during the transition to junior high. The high school's stronger performance in key subjects, despite serving a disadvantaged population, may be linked to its slightly higher per-student spending ($11,316 vs. $10,376) and lower student-teacher ratio (12.5:1 vs. 14.2:1). Overall, the district offers a mixed picture: a high school that excels in reading and social studies but struggles with math, and an elementary school that provides consistent, if unspectacular, results.
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