Quinlan Independent School District (Isd)

The Quinlan Independent School District (Isd) serves approximately 2,936 students across four schools—D C Cannon Elementary (PK-2), A E Butler Intermediate (3-5), C B Thompson Middle (6-8), and Wh Ford High School (9-12)—and is ranked 775th out of 951 districts in Texas, placing it in the bottom 20% statewide.

Among the schools, Wh Ford High School stands out as the district’s strongest performer, showing a clear upward trend in state ranking over three years and boasting a 97.9% graduation rate with a near-zero dropout rate of 0.1%. In contrast, C B Thompson Middle presents a striking paradox: while only 13.33% of 6th graders and 23.03% of 7th graders are proficient in math, an exceptional 93.94% of 8th graders taking Algebra I are proficient—nearly double the state average. This suggests a highly effective advanced math program that does not extend to general grade-level instruction. D C Cannon Elementary, the largest school with 815 students, serves the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students (78.4%) but also has the highest student-to-teacher ratio (17.8:1) and the second-lowest spending per student ($8,745), highlighting a significant resource challenge.

Key metrics reveal notable disparities: the high school spends $11,514 per student—34% more than A E Butler Intermediate ($8,566)—while serving the lowest percentage of low-income students (63.58%). Academically, the district consistently scores 10-20 percentage points below state averages, with one exception: at A E Butler Intermediate, 5th-grade Science proficiency (29.82%) barely exceeded the state average (29.57%) in 2024-2025. The high school’s 22-point jump in Algebra I proficiency from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026 offers a glimmer of hope, suggesting that targeted instructional changes can drive improvement even in a low-performing district.