Summary:
Zip code 78676 (Wimberley, TX) is home to two high schools serving grades 8-12: Wimberley High School and Katherine Anne Porter School, offering families a clear choice between a large, traditional public school and a small charter school.
Wimberley High School, part of the highly-rated Wimberley Independent School District (Isd), is the standout academic leader with 820 students. It boasts a 98% graduation rate, a 0.2% dropout rate, and a stable 4-star state ranking in the 80th percentile. The school excels in STEM, with Biology proficiency at 85.19% and Algebra I at 53.61%, both near or above state averages. In contrast, Katherine Anne Porter School is a much smaller charter (95 students) with a more intimate 8.8:1 student-teacher ratio. However, it struggles with a 77.4% graduation rate and a 5.3% dropout rate. Its state ranking is volatile, dropping from the 77th to the 57th percentile in recent years, likely due to its small size.
The most striking finding is the inverse academic strength between the two schools. Wimberley High School dominates in STEM, while Katherine Anne Porter School excels in humanities, surpassing Wimberley in English I Reading (84.62% vs. 75.5%) and U.S. History (87.5% vs. 82.43%). Both schools spend a similar amount per student (around $11,700), but Wimberley achieves far better overall outcomes, raising questions about resource efficiency. For parents, the choice may hinge on a student's academic focus: Wimberley offers stability and strong STEM performance, while Katherine Anne Porter provides a personalized environment with notable humanities success, despite higher volatility and lower graduation rates.
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