Summary:
The Tulia Independent School District (Isd) is a small, rural district in Texas serving approximately 801 students across three schools: Tulia Elementary (PK-5), Tulia J H (6-8), and Tulia High School (9-12). The district faces significant academic challenges, ranking in the 4th percentile statewide (915 out of 951 districts), with a very high average free/reduced lunch rate of 82.6% indicating widespread economic disadvantage.
Among the three schools, Tulia High School stands out as the relative bright spot, consistently earning a 1-star rating and showing a strong 94.1% graduation rate with a very low 0.3% dropout rate. However, its academic proficiency remains low, with Algebra I at 23.26% and English I at 23.08%. In contrast, Tulia J H is the most volatile school, showing dramatic swings in performance—6th-grade Math jumped from 15.49% to 35.48% proficiency between school years, while 8th-grade Math crashed from 26.56% to 11.9%. Tulia Elementary is the most consistently low-performing school, with a 0-star rating and no subject reaching even 32% proficiency, ranking in the 3rd to 7th percentile over three years.
A key paradox is that the district invests above-average resources ($13,095 per student) and maintains a very low student-teacher ratio (9.3:1), yet academic outcomes are among the lowest in Texas. Science and Social Studies are critical weaknesses, with 8th-grade Science at just 7.14% proficiency compared to the state average of 46.25%. The high school successfully retains students but struggles to educate them to state standards, while the middle school's erratic performance suggests success depends heavily on individual teachers or cohorts rather than a stable curriculum. Overall, the district shows no clear path of sustained improvement, with all schools stagnating or declining in rankings over the past three years.
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