Summary:
The Terrell Independent School District (Isd) contains three high schools serving grades 7 through 12, with the main comprehensive campus, Terrell High School, enrolling 1,458 students, while two smaller alternative campuses—Terrell Alternative Education Center/Phoenix School (32 students) and Tisd Child & Adolescent School (21 students)—serve high-needs populations. The district ranks in the bottom 17% of Texas districts with a 1-star rating, and all three schools face significant academic challenges compared to state averages.
Terrell High School stands out as the district's primary academic driver, with the highest proficiency rates across all subjects—Biology (59.64%) and U.S. History (52.28%) are relative strengths, while Algebra I (22.48%) is a major weakness. In contrast, the two alternative schools show near-zero proficiency: Terrell Alternative Education Center/Phoenix School recorded 0% in Algebra I, Biology, and English I Reading, and Tisd Child & Adolescent School posted 0% in Algebra I and 8th Grade Math and Science. The alternative schools also have extremely high per-student spending—$27,441 at the Alternative Education Center versus $11,454 at Terrell High School—yet this investment does not translate into academic success, suggesting their focus is on credit recovery and behavioral intervention rather than test scores.
The most critical finding is the severe dropout crisis at Tisd Child & Adolescent School, which has a 16.7% dropout rate—over ten times the district average of 1.6%—despite a very low student-teacher ratio of 5.7:1. This indicates intensive intervention is not leading to academic proficiency. Across all three schools, mathematics is the weakest subject, with Terrell High School's Algebra I proficiency (22.48%) less than half the state average (54.03%), pointing to a systemic district-wide issue requiring focused math instruction and support.
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