Summary:
The Mathis Independent School District (Isd) is a small, rural district in Texas serving approximately 1,429 students across four schools, all of which face high levels of economic disadvantage, with free/reduced lunch rates exceeding 77%.
Within the district, Mathis High School stands out as the strongest performer, earning a 3-star rating and boasting a high 95.4% graduation rate with near or above state-average proficiency in Biology, English I, and English II. In stark contrast, Mathis Middle is the most challenged school, holding a 1-star rating and showing a severe decline in math proficiency—for example, only 8.82% of 8th graders met state standards compared to the state average of 47.24%. Interestingly, Mathis Middle excels with its advanced math students, achieving 89.47% proficiency on the Algebra I EOC exam, creating a "two-tiered" math department. Mathis Intermediate serves grades 3-5 and shows low but slightly improving math scores, while Mathis Elementary rounds out the district's early education.
A key takeaway is the "middle school slide" in mathematics, where proficiency collapses between intermediate and middle school grades. Resource allocation also appears uneven: Mathis High School, the best performer, has the highest spending per student ($13,119) and the smallest class sizes (11.5:1), while Mathis Middle, facing the greatest challenges, has the lowest spending ($10,431) and the largest class sizes (15.2:1). Despite these disparities, the district maintains a low overall dropout rate of 0.6%, and the high school's success demonstrates that strong outcomes are possible even with significant economic hurdles.
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