Karnes City Independent School District (Isd)

The Karnes City Independent School District (Isd) serves 1,017 students across four schools in a small, rural Texas community, including Karnes City Pri (PK-1), Karnes City Elementary (2-5), Karnes City J H (6-8), and Karnes City High School (9-12).

Karnes City High School is the district's standout, earning a 3-star rating and ranking in the 52nd percentile among Texas high schools, a bright spot compared to the elementary and middle schools which all rank in the bottom 22nd percentile. The high school shows a notable strength in Biology, with 84.62% of students proficient—14 points above the state average—and has shown a positive upward trend in its ranking over three years. In contrast, Karnes City J H presents a "bimodal" performance: while 94.74% of 8th graders passed Algebra I (far exceeding the state average), general 8th-grade math proficiency is only 30.43% and social studies proficiency is a dismal 7.79%. Karnes City Elementary struggles significantly, with 4th-grade math at 27.16% and 5th-grade science at just 6.33% in a recent year.

The district invests heavily per student (over $13,500 annually) and maintains small class sizes, especially at the middle and high schools (ratios near 10:1). However, this spending has not yet translated into strong overall outcomes, as the district ranks in the 24th percentile statewide. The high school's graduation rate of 70.2% is a critical concern, well below the state average. Year-over-year test scores are volatile, particularly at the middle school, where 7th-grade reading jumped from 30.95% to 60.34% in one year, while 6th-grade reading dropped from 43.33% to 31.58%. This inconsistency may reflect small cohort sizes or instructional changes, making it important for parents to look beyond single-year data when evaluating these schools.