Bonham Middle

Bonham Middle in Odessa, TX, serves 835 students in grades 6-8 within the Ector County Independent School District (Isd), where over 83% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This school presents a fascinating paradox: while its advanced math program is exceptional, its overall academic performance remains well below district and state averages, earning a 1-star rating in recent years.

The standout feature at Bonham Middle is its Algebra I program. In the 2025-2026 school year, an impressive 95.24% of students taking the Algebra I End-of-Course exam scored proficient or above—dramatically higher than the district average of 40.58% and the state average of 54.03%. This success rate even surpasses nearby schools like Wilson & Young Medal Of Honor Middle (97.22%) and Nimitz Middle (70.77%). However, this strength doesn't extend to general math instruction: only 18.91% of 6th graders and 18.29% of 7th graders were proficient in math, significantly below district and state averages. The school also maintains a consistently low dropout rate of 0.4%, compared to the district average of 2.0% and Crockett Middle's 3.2%.

Despite spending $13,173 per student—higher than any nearby school in the district—Bonham's overall outcomes remain low. For context, Wilson & Young Medal Of Honor Middle, located just 1.55 miles away, serves a similar student population but achieves dramatically better results, ranking in the 48th percentile compared to Bonham's 15th percentile. This suggests that Bonham's challenges are likely related to school-specific instructional factors rather than demographics alone. On a positive note, the school's "At Risk" student subgroup has shown improvement, moving from the 7th percentile to the 20th percentile in recent years, indicating that targeted interventions may be gaining traction.