Summary
Wortham Middle is a small, rural school in Wortham, TX, serving 132 students in grades 6-8 within the Wortham Independent School District (Isd), where over 60% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school has seen a notable decline in academic performance over the past decade, dropping from a 3-star ranking in 2016-2017 to a 1-star rating in 2025-2026, placing it in the bottom tier of Texas middle schools. Proficiency rates in Reading (31.8% to 40%) and Mathematics (14.3% to 38.8%) are well below state averages and often 10-20 percentage points lower than nearby schools like Fairfield J H and Teague J H, which have shown more stability or improvement.
Despite these challenges, Wortham Middle has demonstrated flashes of excellence in specific areas. In the 2020-2021 school year, its Gifted and Talented program ranked in the 99th percentile (5-star), an extraordinary achievement that suggests the school can achieve elite results when focusing resources on a high-ability group. Additionally, the school’s Special Education program ranked in the 81st percentile in 2023-2024, though this success has been volatile and dropped to the 49th percentile in 2025-2026. Interestingly, 8th-grade math scores (38.8% proficient) are comparatively stronger than 6th and 7th-grade math, approaching the performance of neighboring schools, which may indicate a stronger teacher or curriculum at that level.
Wortham Middle’s per-student spending ($8,393) is the lowest among comparable schools, with Fairfield Independent School District (Isd), Groesbeck Independent School District (Isd), and Teague Independent School District (Isd) all spending over $10,000 per student. This funding gap likely contributes to the school’s struggles. However, Wortham consistently outperforms its closest neighbor, Mexia J H, which serves a similarly high-poverty population and is also ranked in the bottom 20% of the state. For example, in 7th-grade math, Wortham (17.1% proficient) significantly outperformed Mexia (10%), suggesting that despite its own difficulties, Wortham provides a relatively better education than its immediate neighbor.
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