Denver City Independent School District (Isd)

The Denver City Independent School District (Isd) in Texas serves 1,474 students across four schools—Denver City High School, William G Gravitt J H, Dodson Pri (PK-2), and Kelley Elementary (3-5)—and is ranked 610th out of 951 districts in Texas, earning a 2-star rating.

The standout school in the district is William G Gravitt J H, which has shown remarkable improvement, climbing from a 1-star rating in 2023-2024 to a 3-star rating in 2025-2026—the only school in the district to achieve this. Its 8th-grade math scores (55.45% proficient) significantly beat the state average (47.24%), and the school has improved across nearly all subjects. In contrast, Kelley Elementary has seen a troubling decline, dropping from a 3-star rating (57th percentile) in 2023-2024 to a 1-star rating (28th percentile) in 2025-2026, with particularly low 3rd-grade math proficiency (24% vs. state 44.33%). Denver City High School stands out for its near-perfect 99.1% graduation rate and 0.0% dropout rate, though its academic scores remain below state averages in most subjects. Dodson Pri has no test score data, making its academic performance unknown.

A key district-wide weakness is mathematics, with every math score from 3rd through 8th grade falling below state averages, often by 10-20 percentage points. Resource allocation also varies significantly: Denver City High School spends $14,643 per student with a 13.6:1 student-teacher ratio, while Dodson Pri spends just $10,621 per student with a 15.6:1 ratio, despite serving the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students (69.46% free/reduced lunch). This disparity, combined with the middle school’s rapid improvement and the elementary school’s decline, suggests that targeted interventions at William G Gravitt J H are effectively addressing learning gaps, while foundational skills at the elementary level need urgent attention.