Summary:
The three public schools in zip code 78590 serve the small, rural community of San Perlita, Texas, and are part of the San Perlita Independent School District (Isd), which educates about 187 students across elementary, middle, and high school levels. The district earns a 2-star rating, placing it near the middle of Texas schools, but a defining characteristic is the high level of economic disadvantage, with 79% to 89% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch.
San Perlita Elementary stands out as the district's most consistent performer, earning a 3-star rating for three consecutive years and showing an improving state percentile ranking. In contrast, San Perlita Middle is the most volatile, jumping from a 1-star to a 3-star rating in a single year, while San Perlita High School is the most challenged, with a consistent 1-star rating and declining test scores. All schools benefit from exceptionally low student-teacher ratios (7.4:1 to 9.6:1) and high per-student spending ($18,599 to $23,664), yet academic outcomes are mixed. The elementary school excels in mathematics across all grades, while the middle school shows strength in 6th-grade reading and math but struggles with 8th-grade social studies. The high school faces a critical bottleneck in Algebra I, where 0% of students scored proficient, despite a graduation rate of 87.5% and a 0% dropout rate.
Key takeaways include a "small school paradox" where high resources do not guarantee strong results, likely due to poverty-related challenges. The district shows a clear divergence in trends: elementary performance is steadily improving, middle school is volatile but capable of high achievement, and high school is declining. The Algebra I failure is a systemic weakness that undermines college readiness, while pockets of excellence—like elementary math and 6th-grade programs—offer models for improvement. The disconnect between a decent graduation rate and very low test proficiency raises questions about academic rigor at the high school level.
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