Summary:
Hempstead Independent School District (Isd) is served by a single elementary school, Hempstead Elementary, which educates students from Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade and faces significant challenges, with 87% of its 823 students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. The school's state ranking places it in the bottom 11th percentile of Texas elementary schools, and its academic performance consistently falls far below state averages across all subjects and grade levels. For the 2025-2026 school year, only about 30% of students were proficient in reading and 33% in mathematics, compared to state averages of 54% and 47%, respectively, highlighting a severe and persistent performance gap.
While there are some signs of improvement from the previous year—such as 5th grade reading proficiency rising from 23% to 39% and 5th grade math from 27% to 40%—these gains still leave students well behind their peers statewide. A notable concern is the 5th grade science scores, where only 14% of students were proficient in 2024-2025, less than half the state average. Additionally, data shows that students taking the STAAR Spanish test in 5th grade had a 0% proficiency rate, suggesting that English Language Learners may not be receiving adequate support to meet academic standards.
The school spends $10,515 per student, yet this investment has not translated into strong academic outcomes, likely due to the deep-seated challenges associated with high poverty rates. With a student-teacher ratio of 19.8:1, the school may benefit from more targeted interventions, such as specialized literacy programs or wraparound services, to address the needs of its community. For parents considering this district, it is crucial to understand that Hempstead Independent School District (Isd) offers only one elementary option, and while the school is working to improve, it faces substantial hurdles in closing the achievement gap with the rest of Texas.
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