Summary:
The city of Rising Star, Texas, is served by the Rising Star Independent School District (Isd), which operates two small public schools—Rising Star High School (grades 6-12) and Rising Star Elementary (grades PK-5)—with a total enrollment of just 181 students. The district serves a high-poverty community, with over half of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, and faces significant academic challenges, particularly in math and science.
The standout school is Rising Star High School, which has shown remarkable improvement, jumping from the 27th percentile to the 58th percentile in state rankings over the past year. It boasts a perfect 100% graduation rate and zero dropout rate, and it outperforms state averages in 7th-grade reading, English I and II reading, and matches the state average in U.S. History. In contrast, Rising Star Elementary is struggling significantly, ranking in the bottom 11% of Texas elementary schools. Despite having a low student-teacher ratio of 10:1 and high per-pupil spending, the elementary school consistently underperforms across all subjects, with math being a district-wide crisis—only 14.29% of 3rd and 6th graders are proficient in math, compared to state averages around 40%.
A key takeaway is the stark contrast between the two schools: the high school is on an upward trajectory, while the elementary school is not realizing the benefits of its small class sizes and resources. Science is a critical weakness, with 0% of 5th graders proficient in science in a recent year, which likely feeds into below-average high school biology scores. This suggests a "feeder problem" where students arrive at high school already behind, and the district must address foundational math and science instruction at the elementary level to sustain the high school's recent success.
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