Summary:
Taylor Independent School District (Isd) is home to a single middle school, Taylor Middle, which serves grades 6 through 8 with a total enrollment of 602 students in a predominantly economically disadvantaged community, where over 72% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Taylor Middle presents a profile of stark contrasts. The school has shown a concerning decline in its statewide ranking, dropping from the 17th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 29th percentile in 2025-2026, and it currently holds a 1-star rating. However, a standout strength is its Algebra I performance: in the 2025-2026 school year, 82.35% of students taking the End-of-Course exam were proficient, dramatically outperforming the state average of 54.03% and representing a massive year-over-year improvement from 37.25%. Conversely, mathematics proficiency in lower grades is critically low, with only 8.66% of 7th graders proficient in math—a staggering 20.75 percentage points below the state average. Reading scores show a more positive trend, with improvement across all grade levels from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, such as 6th grade rising from 34.9% to 44.93% proficient.
Key metrics include a low student-teacher ratio of 12.6:1, which suggests smaller class sizes, and per-student spending of $10,823. The school's dropout rate is a low 0.2%, better than the district's 0.8%. The most interesting takeaway is the "Algebra I Paradox": the school excels at accelerating a select group of high-performing students in advanced math while the majority of students struggle with foundational math skills. This "barbell effect" of extreme highs and lows, combined with persistent math challenges in 6th and 7th grades despite improvements in 8th grade, indicates that math intervention efforts are not yet reaching the lower grades effectively. Overall, Taylor Middle is a school of extremes, with notable strengths in advanced coursework but significant challenges in core math instruction for most students.
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