Summary:
The Hemphill Independent School District (Isd) is home to a single middle school, Hemphill Middle, which serves 219 students in grades 5 through 8 in the small East Texas community of Hemphill. This school stands out for its exceptional advanced math program and a strong upward trajectory in its overall state ranking, having rebounded to the 80th percentile (4 stars) for the 2025-2026 school year after a dip the previous year.
The school's most impressive achievement is in Algebra I, where 92.31% of 8th graders were proficient in 2025-2026, dramatically outperforming the state average of 54.03%. This strength extends to 8th grade math overall, where 76% of students were proficient, beating the state by nearly 29 percentage points. However, performance is uneven across grade levels. The school struggles most with a "6th grade slump," where reading proficiency (50%) and math proficiency (47.06%) in 2025-2026 were only near or slightly above state averages, representing a significant drop from the school's stronger 7th and 8th grade results. Additionally, 5th grade math proficiency declined from 54.39% to 44.23% year-over-year, falling below the state average.
Despite a very low student-teacher ratio of 9.7:1 and spending of $12,746 per student, the school has not achieved uniform success across all subjects and grades. While the zero dropout rate and stellar upper-grade math scores suggest effective acceleration for top students, the inconsistent performance in 5th and 6th grade math indicates a need to strengthen foundational skills for all learners. For parents, Hemphill Middle offers a clear path to advanced math success and small class sizes, but families should be aware that the transition into middle school, particularly 6th grade, may require additional academic support.
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