Summary:
The Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District (Isd) is a small, rural district in Texas serving about 2,919 students across four schools: two elementary schools (Zavala Elementary and Austin Elementary), one middle school (Crockett Middle), and one high school (Pecos High School).
Crockett Middle is the district's standout performer, particularly in advanced math. An impressive 94.29% of its students taking Algebra I were proficient, far exceeding the state average of 54.03%. This school also excels in 8th-grade math (59.34% proficient) and is the only school in the district showing a clear upward trend in its state ranking. In contrast, Pecos High School leads in student persistence with a 97.1% graduation rate and a 0.1% dropout rate, and its best subject is Biology (59.3% proficient). Zavala Elementary has a unique strength in its Spanish-language STAAR program, with 50% of 5th graders proficient in math—more than double the state average. Austin Elementary, serving Pre-K through 1st grade, has no test scores but has the highest rate of economic disadvantage (69.47%) in the district.
Overall, the district ranks in the 16th percentile in Texas (1-star rating) and spends significantly more per student ($21,084 to $23,153) than the state average, yet academic outcomes remain low. A key paradox is that while Crockett Middle achieves world-class Algebra I results, Pecos High School has only a 20.31% proficiency rate in the same subject, suggesting a major transition challenge. The district's math performance is highly inconsistent, with a potential "bottleneck" in 7th-grade math (only 8.47% proficient at Crockett). The bilingual program at Zavala Elementary is a hidden asset, effectively serving students in Spanish even as English scores lag. These insights point to systemic challenges beyond funding, including high economic disadvantage and the need for targeted instructional strategies.
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