Summary
Jacksonville High School in Jacksonville, TX, serves 1,270 students in grades 9-12 and is part of the Jacksonville Independent School District (Isd), a district ranked in the 13th percentile statewide. The school has recently seen its state ranking drop to a 1-star rating (25th percentile), a decline from previous years, even as it maintains a solid graduation rate consistently above 92%. This contrast suggests that while the school successfully helps students graduate, academic proficiency on state assessments, particularly in core subjects, is not keeping pace with peers.
A key factor setting JHS apart from nearby schools is the high level of economic disadvantage among its students, with 84% qualifying for free or reduced lunch. This rate is more than double that of higher-performing neighbors like Bullard High School (21.56%) and Whitehouse High School (38.82%), and significantly higher than Frankston High School (40.93%) and Troup High School (48.23%). Even Rusk High School, the next lowest-ranked peer, has a lower rate (61.51%). Academically, JHS lags behind these schools, with a particularly dramatic gap in Algebra I, where only 25.73% of students are proficient compared to 88.89% at Neches High School and 58.97% at Whitehouse.
Despite these challenges, the school has shown pockets of success. In past years, "At Risk" students performed exceptionally well, ranking in the 77th percentile, and English Language Learners (ELL) have also shown relative strength, though these gains have not been sustained consistently. However, chronic underperformance persists for male students and African American students, who have ranked in the 1-star range for several years. The school spends $10,648 per student, less than some higher-performing peers like Frankston ($14,518) and Neches ($16,456), but more than Whitehouse ($9,474), indicating that resource allocation and instructional strategies, rather than just funding, are key areas for improvement in this high-poverty environment.
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