Summary:
Zip code 78650, serving the rural community of McDade, Texas, is home to a single high school, McDade High School, which serves grades 7 through 12 within the McDade Independent School District (Isd).
McDade High School is a very small school with only 169 students and an excellent student-teacher ratio of 8.5:1, allowing for significant individual attention. The school presents a mixed academic profile. It is a standout performer in science and history, consistently exceeding state averages in Biology and U.S. History end-of-course exams. For example, in the 2025-2026 school year, 72.41% of students were proficient in Biology and 76.67% in U.S. History, both above the state average. However, the school struggles significantly in mathematics, with only 8.7% of 8th graders proficient in math and 11.54% in Algebra I, compared to state averages of over 47% and 54%, respectively. Despite this math challenge, the school has shown a positive trajectory in its overall state ranking, improving from the 34th percentile (2 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 53rd percentile (3 stars) in 2025-2026.
Key metrics for McDade High School include a strong graduation rate of 91.3% and a very low dropout rate of 0.6%, indicating good student retention. Nearly half of the students (49.7%) are economically disadvantaged. The school's small size can lead to significant year-over-year volatility in test scores for specific grade levels, making it important to look at multi-year trends. The stark contrast between high performance in science and history and low performance in math is the most notable finding, suggesting a specific challenge in mathematics instruction or curriculum that does not affect other subjects.
Thank you for your feedback!