Cleveland Independent School District (Isd)

The Cleveland Independent School District (Isd) is a small, predominantly low-income district in Texas serving approximately 12,503 students across 11 schools, including six elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, and one alternative school, with the district ranking in the 4th percentile statewide.

While the district faces significant academic challenges, a few schools stand out for their relative strengths. Eastside Elementary is a clear bright spot, achieving the highest state ranking in the district (26th percentile) and being the only school where 3rd-grade reading proficiency (57.29%) exceeds the state average (51.08%). Cottonwood Elementary showed the most dramatic improvement, jumping from the 10th to the 23rd percentile in a single year. In contrast, Frederick A Douglass Learning Academy stands out for its extremely high per-student spending ($20,803) paired with the lowest test scores in the district, including 0% proficiency in Algebra I. The Disciplinary Alternative Education Program has a staggering cost of $76,057 per student, over seven times the cost of a standard high school student.

A fascinating anomaly is the success of both middle schools in Algebra I. Despite very low proficiency in standard grade-level math (e.g., 7th-grade math proficiency is around 5% at Cleveland Middle and 3% at Santa Fe Middle), their Algebra I End-of-Course exam scores are exceptionally high—80.73% and 70.51% respectively—far exceeding the state average of 54.03%. This suggests a targeted program for advanced students, while the majority struggle. Overall, the district shows a pattern of extremes, with schools either showing promise like Eastside and Cottonwood or deeply entrenched in the bottom percentiles, highlighting that school-level leadership and specific programs have a greater impact than district-wide policies.