Alice Independent School District (Isd)

The Alice Independent School District (Isd) serves approximately 4,297 students across six schools—one high school, one middle school, and four elementary schools—in a mid-sized Texas community where economic disadvantage is a significant factor, with all schools reporting free/reduced lunch rates above 83%.

Schallert Elementary is the district's clear academic standout, consistently earning a 4-star rating and ranking in the top quarter of Texas elementary schools, despite having the highest student-teacher ratio (24.1) and the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (83.78%). In contrast, Noonan Elementary and Dubose Elementary have lower student-teacher ratios (around 19:1) but significantly lower academic performance, suggesting factors like school leadership and teaching quality are critical. Adams Middle excels in advanced coursework, with a remarkable 100% proficiency rate for students taking high school-level End-of-Course exams in Algebra I, Biology, and English I Reading, though its standard grade-level scores lag behind state averages. Alice High School shows a positive turnaround, climbing 242 places in state rankings over three years, though its graduation rate (86.4%) and dropout rate (3.3%) remain below state targets.

A critical district-wide weakness is a performance "cliff" between elementary and middle school, with 5th-grade Reading proficiency (61.11%) dropping to 50.16% in 6th grade, and Mathematics falling from 49.35% to 34.29%. Science is another systemic gap, with 5th-grade proficiency ranging from 14.1% to 18.75% across elementary schools, far below the state average of 29.57%, and Biology at Alice High School (60.07%) trailing the state by over 10 points. Overall, the district's elementary schools show pockets of strength, particularly in Reading, while secondary schools consistently struggle, making the transition to middle school and science instruction key areas for improvement.