Summary:
The Richard Milburn Alter High School (Killeen) district oversees nine alternative high schools across Texas, serving grades 9-12 in cities like Odessa, Corpus Christi, Fort Worth, Houston, Lubbock, Midland, Killeen, Amarillo, and Pasadena. These schools consistently rank in the bottom 1-2% of all Texas high schools, each receiving a 0-star rating from Schooldigger, and collectively serve about 1,607 students with enrollments ranging from 123 to 350.
While no school in this district excels by traditional measures, Richard Milburn Academy Pasadena stands out as the relative outperformer, ranking highest in the district (1889 out of 2009) with the best Biology proficiency rate (54.55%), the lowest student-to-teacher ratio (15.2:1), and the lowest dropout rate (21.6%). In contrast, Richard Milburn Academy Odessa is the lowest-ranked school (1997 out of 2009), with the largest enrollment (350), the highest student-to-teacher ratio (50.6:1), 0% proficiency in Algebra I, and a graduation rate of just 17.0%. Richard Milburn Academy Midland showed the most improvement, moving from the 4th to the 7th percentile in state ranking, while Richard Milburn Academy Houston (Suburban) has the highest percentage of students receiving free or reduced lunch (92.36%) and the highest dropout rate (27.2%).
Key metrics reveal a system in crisis: district-wide proficiency averages are drastically below state averages—Algebra I at 4.74% (state: 54.03%), Biology at 16.13% (state: 70.51%), and English I Reading at 6.6% (state: 55.43%). The average graduation rate is only 24.8%, while the dropout rate is 23.8%. Interestingly, U.S. History is a relative strength, with schools like Richard Milburn Alter H S (Killeen) achieving 45% proficiency. There is no clear link between spending per student and performance—Richard Milburn Academy Amarillo spends the most ($10,235) but ranks low, while Odessa spends the least ($6,197) and is the lowest-ranked. However, lower student-to-teacher ratios, as seen in Pasadena, correlate with better outcomes, suggesting this could be a key area for improvement.
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