Summary:
The Kemp Independent School District (Isd) contains a single middle school, Kemp J H, serving grades 6 through 8 with 439 students in a high-poverty area where 75.4% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Kemp J H presents a mixed academic picture. The school's overall state ranking places it in the bottom 15% of Texas middle schools, and proficiency rates in core subjects like 6th grade reading (32.17%), 7th grade math (16.54%), and 8th grade social studies (13.87%) fall well below state averages. However, the school has a standout bright spot: its Algebra I program. An impressive 84.62% of students taking the Algebra I End-of-Course exam were proficient, dramatically outperforming the state average of 54.03%. This suggests a highly effective advanced math track for a select group of students, even as the majority of 8th graders struggle with grade-level math (29.32% proficient). The school also maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.6 to 1 and a very low dropout rate of 0.3%.
Recent trends show a concerning decline in several areas, with 6th grade reading proficiency dropping from 39.51% to 32.17% and 7th grade math falling from 21.67% to 16.54% between the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. Per-student spending of $11,145 is slightly below the state average, and the school's high poverty rate correlates strongly with its overall low academic performance. For parents, the key takeaway is that Kemp J H offers an exceptional advanced math program for qualifying students, but the general education curriculum faces significant challenges in bringing most students to grade-level proficiency in reading, math, and social studies.
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