Summary:
The Venus Independent School District (Isd) serves two elementary schools—Venus Elementary (grades 2-5) and Venus Pri (Pre-K through 1st grade)—with a combined enrollment of 1,060 students in a high-poverty area where over 73% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
The district shows a clear strategic split between its two schools. Venus Pri receives a higher per-student investment ($11,288) and maintains a lower student-teacher ratio (14.5:1), suggesting a focus on early childhood support. In contrast, Venus Elementary spends less per student ($9,728) with a higher ratio (16.8:1), yet it is the only school with standardized test data. Academic performance at Venus Elementary is critically low, ranking in the 8th to 10th percentile statewide for three consecutive years. Reading proficiency ranges from 30% to 33%, and math proficiency from 27% to 34%, placing students 15-23 percentage points behind state averages. A notable bright spot is that 3rd-grade students taking the Spanish STAAR outperform the state average for Spanish-speaking peers in both reading (30% vs. 28.3%) and math (33.33% vs. 27.28%).
Despite stagnant rankings, raw test scores show modest year-over-year improvement from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026—for example, 3rd-grade reading rose from 23.56% to 31.21% and math from 20% to 34.48%. However, 5th-grade science proficiency remains very low at 20.99% (state average: 29.57%). The district’s heavy investment in early grades at Venus Pri does not yet appear to translate into strong outcomes at Venus Elementary, suggesting a disconnect that the district may need to address. Overall, while progress is occurring, the schools face significant challenges tied to high poverty rates, and the Spanish STAAR success offers a potential model for improvement.
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