Summary
Cotulla High School in Cotulla, TX, is a small, rural school serving 356 students in grades 9-12 within the Cotulla Independent School District (Isd), a district ranked in the bottom 14% statewide. Despite these challenges, the school has shown a clear upward trend, earning a 2-star rating for four consecutive years, and serves a high-poverty population where over 84% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Cotulla High School stands out as a clear academic leader compared to its nearest neighbor, Dilley High School, outperforming it in every core subject. For example, in English I Reading, Cotulla achieved a 54.12% proficiency rate versus Dilley's 31.58%, a 22.5-point gap. The school also invests more per student ($17,591 vs. $15,600) and has a lower student-to-teacher ratio (8.6:1 vs. 9.5:1), suggesting a greater focus on individual support. However, the school faces a critical crisis in Algebra I, where proficiency plummeted from 30.26% to just 7.69% in 2024-2025, far below the state average of 47.01%.
Interestingly, Cotulla excels in serving its Gifted and Talented students, ranking in the 96th percentile statewide, but struggles with its At Risk students, who consistently rank in the bottom 20%. The school also shows inconsistent but improving performance for English Language Learner and Special Education students, with both groups jumping to a 4-star rating in 2024-2025 before regressing. Despite low test scores, Cotulla maintains a strong graduation rate above 94% and a dropout rate of just 0.8%, indicating a school culture focused on keeping students on track to graduate.
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