Summary:
Zip code 79837 is home to a single school, Dell City School, a small, rural, alternative public school serving grades PK through 12 within the Dell City Independent School District (Isd), with a total enrollment of just 76 students.
Dell City School presents a fascinating paradox. On one hand, it boasts a perfect 100% graduation rate and a 0% dropout rate for the 2023-2024 school year, a remarkable achievement given that 77.63% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school also excels in several high school End-of-Course (EOC) exams, with 100% of students proficient in Algebra I and 81.82% proficient in Biology in the 2024-2025 school year, both well above state averages. This success is supported by an exceptionally low student-to-teacher ratio of 6.1:1 and high per-student spending of $26,940, which allows for personalized instruction.
However, the school's overall proficiency across all tested subjects for the 2025-2026 school year averages just 28.5%, significantly below the state average of 51.6%. This gap is most pronounced in the elementary and middle grades, where proficiency in 4th and 6th Grade Mathematics dropped to 0%. This creates a "tale of two schools" dynamic: students who persist through the early grades appear to thrive in high school, while younger students struggle. The small student population also causes dramatic year-over-year swings in test scores, making it difficult to identify clear trends. Ultimately, Dell City School is a school that excels at keeping students engaged and graduating them, even as it faces significant challenges in raising elementary and middle school academic proficiency.
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