KIPP Aspire Academy

KIPP Aspire Academy is a middle school in San Antonio, TX, serving 470 students in grades 5-8 as part of the KIPP Texas Public Schools charter network, and it has recently shown a dramatic upward trend in academic performance after several years of lower rankings.

The most exciting news for parents is that KIPP Aspire Academy is on a clear upward trajectory. After ranking in the bottom 20th percentile for several years, the school jumped to the 35th percentile in the 2025-2026 school year. This improvement is broad-based, with notable gains for students from low-income backgrounds and Hispanic students. The school particularly shines in advanced math, with 62.35% of students taking Algebra I scoring proficient, outperforming both the district and state averages. However, it's important to note that while reading scores are close to state averages, grade-level math proficiency remains a challenge, with rates as low as 21% in 6th grade. The school also has a very low dropout rate of 1.0%, though it operates with a high student-teacher ratio of 23.2:1, which is the highest among nearby schools.

When comparing KIPP Aspire to its closest neighbor, Harris Middle (just 0.61 miles away), KIPP Aspire outperforms it in nearly every subject and grade level. For example, in 7th Grade Reading, KIPP Aspire had 54.95% proficiency compared to Harris's 26.79%. A notable nearby benchmark is Agnes Cotton Academy, a high-performing school in the San Antonio Independent School District (Isd) that serves a similar population but ranks in the 72nd percentile, dramatically outperforming KIPP Aspire in most metrics. This comparison suggests that high performance is achievable in this context, and KIPP Aspire's recent improvements indicate the school is moving in the right direction, making it a school to watch for families seeking a middle school with strong momentum and a focus on advanced math opportunities.