North Texas Collegiate Academy

The North Texas Collegiate Academy district is a charter school system serving grades PK through 8 across three elementary campuses in the Denton County area, including North Texas Collegiate Academy-East Campus in Little Elm, North Texas Collegiate Academy-South Campus in Lewisville, and North Texas Collegiate Academy-North Campus in Denton.

Among the three schools, North Texas Collegiate Academy-North Campus stands out as the strongest performer, having previously earned a 3-star rating and consistently achieving the highest rankings in the district. In the 2024-2025 school year, it posted exceptional results with 75% proficiency in 6th Grade Reading and 70% proficiency in both 7th Grade Reading and Math, far exceeding state averages. In contrast, North Texas Collegiate Academy-South Campus is the lowest-performing campus, ranking in the 3rd percentile statewide with severe struggles in early-grade fundamentals—only 11% of 3rd graders and 16% of 4th graders were proficient in Math in 2025-2026. North Texas Collegiate Academy-East Campus sits in the middle with a 2-star rating but shows highly volatile performance, such as a 0% proficiency in 6th Grade Math one year and a 71% spike in 5th Grade Reading the next.

A critical district-wide issue is the "middle school cliff," where academic performance sharply declines as students move from elementary to middle school grades, particularly in math. For example, at East Campus, 3rd Grade Math proficiency of 51% drops to just 18% by 8th Grade. Interestingly, spending and class sizes do not predict success: South Campus has the smallest class sizes (14.7:1) but the worst outcomes, while East Campus spends the most per student ($8,355) yet remains inconsistent. However, North Campus proves that high-poverty schools can excel, with 81% of its students economically disadvantaged yet outperforming state averages in multiple subjects, making it a model for the district to replicate.