Pampa Independent School District (Isd)

The Pampa Independent School District (Isd) serves approximately 2,948 students across five schools in the Texas Panhandle, including one high school, one middle school, and three elementary schools, and is ranked in the 21st percentile statewide with a 1-star rating, indicating significant challenges compared to other Texas districts.

Among the schools, Pampa J H stands out as a bright spot in mathematics, with 8th graders taking Algebra I achieving an 80.49% proficiency rate—far exceeding both the district average of 50.47% and the state average of 54.03%. However, this success does not carry over to Pampa High School, where Algebra I proficiency drops to just 40%, suggesting a two-track system where advanced middle school students excel but the general high school population struggles. William B Travis Elementary is the district's most challenged school, earning a 0-star rating and posting the lowest single-subject score district-wide: only 14.41% of 5th graders are proficient in science, compared to 29.57% statewide. In contrast, Lamar Elementary shows a unique strength in its bilingual program, where 40% of 3rd graders taking the STAAR Reading test in Spanish were proficient, outperforming the 33.01% of peers tested in English.

Key metrics reveal consistent underperformance across the district, with the largest gaps in mathematics—only 5.6% of 7th graders at Pampa J H are proficient in math versus 29.41% statewide. The district serves a high-poverty population, with free/reduced lunch eligibility ranging from 51.68% at the high school to nearly 70% at the elementary level, and this correlates with lower academic outcomes. Spending per student is $9,207 at the high school and $8,491 at the middle school, with student-teacher ratios between 13.8:1 and 15.2:1. A notable finding is the sharp decline in 5th-grade science proficiency, particularly at Travis Elementary, indicating a critical gap in upper elementary science instruction that parents should be aware of when considering school options.