Summary:
The Joshua Independent School District (Isd) serves two high schools—Joshua High School and New Horizon High School—for grades 9 through 12, and the district itself ranks in the top 25% of Texas school districts with a 4-star rating.
Joshua High School is the district’s large comprehensive high school with 1,313 students, boasting a 98.4% graduation rate and a near-zero dropout rate of 0.1%. It outperforms state averages in Biology (72.44% proficient) and U.S. History (73.43% proficient), and its state ranking places it in the 61st percentile. However, a striking anomaly appears in 9th-grade STAAR EOC exams: only 5.56% of students were proficient in Algebra I and 4.55% in English I Reading—far below state averages. This suggests a possible data reporting issue or a specific instructional gap in foundational subjects, though upper-grade performance (like U.S. History) shows students eventually catch up and excel. In contrast, New Horizon High School is a small alternative campus with just 30 students, serving a higher-needs population (63.33% economically disadvantaged). It achieves a 93.3% graduation rate and a 0.0% dropout rate, with an impressive 80% proficiency in U.S. History—outperforming both Joshua High and the state average. Its per-student spending of $31,471 is 2.6 times higher than Joshua High’s $12,121, reflecting the intensive support needed for its students.
The key takeaway is that these two schools serve very different missions. Joshua High School efficiently educates a large, less disadvantaged population with strong overall outcomes, while New Horizon High School uses significantly more resources per student to achieve comparable success for at-risk learners. The district as a whole remains a strong performer, with average scores in Biology (81.61%), English II (59.87%), and U.S. History (73.66%) at or above state averages, making it a solid choice for families.
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