Summary:
The Commerce Independent School District (Isd) serves approximately 1,542 students across four schools—Commerce High School, Commerce Middle, Commerce Elementary, and Albert C Williams Elementary—in a small Texas community with high economic need, as over 73% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
The district ranks in the 5th percentile statewide, indicating significant challenges, but there are notable differences between schools. Commerce Middle stands out as a bright spot: its Algebra I proficiency rate of 61.9% surpasses the state average of 54%, suggesting effective acceleration for high-performing math students. In contrast, Commerce High School consistently underperforms, with proficiency rates below 50% in Algebra I, Biology, and U.S. History, though its English I Reading score matches the state average. Albert C Williams Elementary shows a troubling decline, dropping from the 20th to the 4th percentile over three years, with a 5th-grade Science proficiency rate of just 12.5%—the lowest in the district.
Key takeaways include a severe math crisis from 3rd through 8th grade, where proficiency rates often fall into single digits, while the high school's graduation rate of 91.9% offers some stability. Per-student spending ranges from $12,883 to $13,908, and student-teacher ratios are favorable (11.8:1 to 16.5:1), suggesting resources alone aren't the issue. The district's 1.8% dropout rate, including a 1.6% rate at the middle school level, signals early disengagement. For parents, Commerce Middle offers a unique strength in advanced math, while Commerce High School provides a solid reading program, but overall academic performance lags significantly behind state averages.
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