Slaton High School

Slaton High School in Slaton, TX, is a small, rural school serving 359 students in grades 9-12 within the Slaton Independent School District (Isd), a district ranked in the bottom 20% of Texas school districts. The school’s most remarkable strength is its ability to keep students on track to graduate, with near-perfect graduation rates (95.7% to 100% over the last five years) and an extremely low dropout rate of 0.5% or less. This stands in stark contrast to nearby alternative schools in Lubbock, such as Premier H S - Lubbock (Briercroft) and Triumph Public High Schools-Lubbock, which have dropout rates as high as 19.9% and graduation rates as low as 22.5%. Even compared to the high-performing Lubbock-Cooper High School (98.9% graduation rate), Slaton is competitive in student retention.

However, this success in graduation does not translate to high academic proficiency. Slaton’s STAAR EOC test scores consistently lag behind state averages in nearly every subject—for example, only 38.27% of students were proficient in Algebra I compared to 54.03% statewide, and 42.17% in English I Reading versus 55.43% statewide. The school’s overall ranking has recently declined to a 1-star rating (30th percentile), its lowest in a decade, suggesting a systemic challenge. The school also struggles to serve specific student groups equitably, with African American students receiving a 0-star rating (bottom 5% statewide) for two consecutive years and Special Education students also earning a 0-star rating.

On a positive note, Slaton offers a more intimate learning environment with a low student-to-teacher ratio of 10.7:1, significantly lower than the 22.7:1 ratio at Triumph Public High Schools-Lubbock. The district also invests heavily in its students, spending over $15,000 per student—substantially more than the Lubbock-Cooper Independent School District (Isd) ($10,058) and the Roosevelt Independent School District (Isd) ($13,808). This combination of high spending and low class sizes points to a district prioritizing resources for student support, even if academic mastery remains a challenge. For parents, Slaton High School is a unique choice: it excels at ensuring students graduate, but families should be aware of the gap between retention and academic achievement.