Summary
Harleton Elementary is a small, rural PK-5 school in Harleton, Texas, serving 323 students as part of the Harleton Independent School District (Isd). While the school has a strong historical track record, consistently earning high ratings from 2016 through 2024, the most recent data shows a significant drop in its overall state ranking, placing it in the 44th percentile—a sharp departure from its past performance. This decline is particularly notable when compared to nearby high-performing schools like Robert F Hunt Elementary in New Diana ISD, which continues to rank in the 83rd-89th percentile, and Hallsville West Elementary in Hallsville ISD, which ranks in the 75th-84th percentile.
A critical area of concern is mathematics, where proficiency rates have fallen well below the state average across all tested grades. For example, 4th-grade math proficiency at Harleton Elementary was just 16.98%, compared to the state average of 49.28% and the 63.4% achieved at Hallsville West Elementary. The school also shows a widening gender achievement gap, with male students dropping to the 30th percentile in the most recent year, while female students ranked at the 55th percentile. Despite these challenges, the school benefits from a very favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 12.9:1 and moderate per-student spending of $9,740, suggesting that resources are not the primary issue. In contrast, Robert F Hunt Elementary achieves far better results with a higher student-to-teacher ratio of 15.5:1 and lower spending of $8,628 per student.
Interestingly, Harleton Elementary has demonstrated exceptional success with its Hispanic student population, who ranked in the 98th percentile statewide in the 2024-2025 school year. This strength offers a valuable model for improvement. The school's recent struggles place it in a similar performance bracket to Ore City Elementary, a school that has consistently ranked in the bottom quartile. However, given Harleton's strong historical foundation, its current issues are likely solvable with targeted intervention, particularly in mathematics instruction and re-engaging all student groups. The path forward requires a focused, data-driven investigation into the root causes of the recent decline.
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