Summary
Ralls Middle in Ralls, TX, is a small, rural school serving 90 students in grades 6-8 within the Ralls Independent School District (Isd), a district ranked in the bottom 4% of Texas. The school faces significant academic challenges, with a current 1-star rating and a state ranking in the 4th percentile, placing it well below nearby schools like Idalou Middle (78th percentile) and even Roosevelt J H (39th percentile). Test scores reveal stark gaps: for example, only 8% of 8th graders are proficient in math, compared to 86% at Idalou Middle, and just 3% are proficient in social studies versus 40% at Idalou. Nearly 79% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, a high level of economic disadvantage that is similar to Roosevelt J H (77%), yet Roosevelt achieves notably better results.
Despite spending more per student ($12,572) than Idalou ($8,922) or Roosevelt ($10,956), Ralls Middle’s outcomes are the lowest, suggesting that funding and small class sizes (a 9.6:1 student-to-teacher ratio) are not translating into academic success. One interesting exception is in Algebra I, where a small group of 8th graders achieves a 66.67% proficiency rate—higher than the state average—indicating that advanced students are being effectively accelerated, even as most peers struggle with grade-level math. Additionally, the school has shown past strength in serving Special Education students, who ranked in the 86th percentile statewide in 2022-2023, though this success has not been replicated for other student groups.
The school’s performance has been on a clear downward trend, dropping from the 35th percentile in 2020-2021 to its current 4th percentile. All major subgroups—including Hispanic, White, and economically disadvantaged students—consistently rank in the bottom 6% of the state, pointing to systemic issues with instruction or leadership rather than isolated problems. For parents, this data suggests that while Ralls Middle has pockets of effective practice, such as in Algebra I and Special Education, the school is in urgent need of a fundamental overhaul to improve outcomes for the majority of its students.
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