Pearsall High School

Pearsall High School in Pearsall, TX, serves 572 students in grades 9-12 and is part of the Pearsall Independent School District (Isd), a district ranked in the bottom 12% of Texas districts. The school has consistently received a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger over the past decade, indicating persistent challenges in overall academic performance compared to other high schools statewide. With over 85% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a predominantly low-income population, and its student-teacher ratio of approximately 15.7:1 is slightly higher than some nearby schools.

When compared to Devine High School (19.8 miles away), Pearsall shows significant differences in key metrics. Pearsall is ranked in the 19th percentile statewide, while Devine is in the 63rd percentile—a 44-percentile-point gap. Proficiency rates on STAAR End-of-Course exams are consistently lower at Pearsall, with gaps of over 27 points in Biology and U.S. History. However, Pearsall performs similarly to Dilley High School (16.5 miles away), which also serves a high-poverty population (72.5% free/reduced lunch) and shows comparable low proficiency rates. Despite these challenges, Pearsall boasts a consistently high graduation rate averaging over 95% for the last five years, comparable to Devine's 95.5% rate.

A standout finding is the performance of Pearsall's Gifted and Talented (GT) program, which ranked in the 83rd percentile statewide in 2025-2026, earning a 4-star rating—an extraordinary outlier compared to the school's overall 1-star rating. This suggests the school has a highly effective program for its highest-achieving students, a strength to build upon. However, proficiency rates in core subjects like Algebra I, Biology, and English I Reading have shown volatility, with a sharp drop in 2023-2024 followed by partial recovery in 2025-2026. The consistent decline in U.S. History proficiency (from 58% to 45.3% over three years) is particularly concerning. The key takeaway is the need to understand how the success of the GT program can be replicated to better serve the general student population, especially in core subjects where proficiency gaps are most severe.