Ralls High School

Ralls High School is a small, rural high school in Ralls, TX, serving 113 students in grades 9-12 within the Ralls Independent School District (Isd). The school benefits from a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 7.1:1 and high per-pupil spending of $18,980, yet it faces significant academic challenges, with a state rank in the 22nd percentile for the 2025-2026 school year. A key factor is that 78.76% of its students are economically disadvantaged, which is nearly identical to nearby Roosevelt High School (76.81%) but dramatically higher than Idalou High School (22.22%). This poverty gap correlates strongly with academic performance: Ralls trails both schools in every subject, with Algebra I proficiency at just 24% compared to Idalou's 85.71%.

Despite these struggles, Ralls boasts a perfect 100% graduation rate for three consecutive years, showing it excels at keeping students on track to earn diplomas. However, this success contrasts with low test scores, suggesting the school is effective at ensuring course completion but struggles to achieve grade-level academic proficiency. The most hopeful sign is a dramatic turnaround for Special Education students, who jumped from the 11th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 85th percentile in 2025-2026—a four-star rating that demonstrates targeted interventions can work.

Looking ahead, the school's overall state rank has declined from the 62nd percentile in 2015-2016, indicating long-term systemic challenges. The largest subgroups—economically disadvantaged and at-risk students—perform in the bottom 10th percentile statewide. The central question for the school's leadership is whether the successful strategies used for Special Education students can be adapted to better support the majority of its student body, who face significant economic hurdles.