Summary
Center Elementary in Center, TX, serves 476 students in grades 3 through 5 within the Center Independent School District (Isd), a rural East Texas community where over 86% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school has experienced a sharp and sustained decline in performance, dropping from the 51st percentile statewide in 2020-2021 to its lowest-ever ranking in the 4th percentile for the 2025-2026 school year, earning 0 stars. This places it among the lowest-performing elementary schools in Texas, a stark contrast to Garrison Elementary, located just 17 miles away, which has climbed from the 51st to the 80th percentile over the same period.
The most critical academic weakness is mathematics, with proficiency rates in 2025-2026 far below state averages: only 27% of 3rd graders, 18% of 4th graders, and 22% of 5th graders met grade-level standards. This is dramatically lower than San Augustine Elementary, a school with a similar economic disadvantage rate, which achieved 64% proficiency in 4th-grade math and 40% in 5th-grade math. Every student subgroup—including female, male, Hispanic, White, and low socioeconomic status—now ranks in the bottom 10% of Texas schools, a systemic issue that has worsened significantly since 2023-2024. Interestingly, the school’s best recent performance was during the COVID-disrupted 2020-2021 school year, when it earned 3 stars, suggesting temporary strategies that were not sustainable.
Despite increasing per-student spending from $8,561 to $11,155, outcomes have worsened, indicating that funding allocation, not lack of resources, is a key issue. A notable exception is the Migrant Student program, which ranked in the 82nd percentile in 2020-2021, offering a potential model for improvement. Troublingly, F L Moffett Pri, a school in the same district just half a mile away serving grades PK-2 with a similar student population, does not share this decline, suggesting the challenges at Center Elementary are specific to the 3rd-5th grade level, possibly related to instructional strategies or school culture.
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