Summary:
The Richardson Independent School District (Isd) oversees eight middle schools serving grades 6-8, with some campuses like Lake Highlands Middle and Forest Meadow Middle covering all three grades, while others like Richardson North J H and Parkhill J H serve only grades 7-8.
The district is a tale of two tiers. The top-performing group includes Lake Highlands Middle, Richardson North J H, Parkhill J H, Richardson West Technology And Arts Magnet, and Westwood Math Science Leadership Magnet, all holding 4-star ratings and scoring well above state averages. Lake Highlands Middle is the standout traditional school, while the magnet schools show distinct strengths: Richardson West excels in Science and Social Studies, and Westwood shines in Math and Algebra I. In contrast, Liberty J H is the most challenged school with a 0-star rating, scoring 20-30 percentage points below district averages. Forest Meadow Middle and Apollo J H also struggle, with 1-2 star ratings and scores below state averages.
A key paradox is that higher spending and smaller class sizes do not guarantee better results. The lowest-performing schools, Liberty J H and Apollo J H, have the highest spending per student ($11,117 and $11,303) and the most favorable student-teacher ratios (10.9:1 and 11.4:1), while the highest-performing Parkhill J H has the lowest spending ($9,596) and highest ratio (14.2:1). Algebra I performance is a powerful differentiator: top-tier schools like Parkhill and Richardson North have proficiency rates between 65% and 72%, far exceeding the state average of 54%, while struggling schools like Liberty and Forest Meadow have rates between 24% and 36%.
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