Sabinal Independent School District (Isd)

The Sabinal Independent School District (Isd) is a small, rural district in Texas serving 462 students across two schools: Sabinal Elementary (Pre-K through 6th grade) and Sabinal Secondary (7th through 12th grade). The district faces significant challenges, ranking in the 21st percentile statewide with a 1-star rating, and a high rate of economic disadvantage affects 90.34% of elementary and 63.39% of secondary students.

Sabinal Elementary shows a clear strength in Reading, with 4th and 6th graders outperforming the state average in 2025-2026, but it struggles significantly in Mathematics, where every grade level scored below the state average. The school's performance is volatile, dropping from the 64th percentile to the 38th percentile in one year. In contrast, Sabinal Secondary is the district's lowest-performing school, ranked in the 40th percentile, though it shows a bright spot in English I Reading, where 58.14% of students were proficient, exceeding the state average. However, the secondary school has a critical weakness in middle-grade Math, with only 15.15% of 7th graders and 13.33% of 8th graders proficient, far below state averages.

A key paradox is that Sabinal Secondary spends $3,636 more per student ($21,216 vs. $17,580) and has a lower student-teacher ratio (10.8:1 vs. 13.1:1) than the elementary school, yet its academic performance is consistently lower. This suggests deeper instructional issues rather than a lack of resources. Despite low test scores, the district maintains a solid 90.6% graduation rate and a very low 0.9% dropout rate, indicating strong student support systems. The district faces a systemic math crisis that begins in elementary school and compounds at the secondary level, making it a critical area for improvement.