Summary:
The Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Independent School District (ISD) in Texas operates two schools: Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco Elementary and Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco High School. These schools serve a predominantly Hispanic student population, with over 87% Hispanic students at both the elementary and high school levels. While the district has seen some improvements, such as the high school's strong 93.6% 4-year graduation rate, the schools' academic performance on STAAR tests generally lags behind state averages.
The elementary school has made progress, moving from 2919th out of 4581 Texas elementary schools in 2021-2022 to 1827th out of 4675 in 2023-2024. However, both schools have lower proficiency rates compared to the state in most STAAR subject areas. The high school's strongest performance is in English I Reading (63.41% proficient) and U.S. History (60% proficient). Socioeconomic challenges are evident, with over 78% of students at each school qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.
Despite the academic performance gaps, the Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco ISD schools benefit from relatively low student-teacher ratios, with 14.9 at the elementary school and 14.7 at the high school. This suggests the district is investing in smaller class sizes, which can benefit student learning. However, this higher level of staffing may also contribute to the higher per-student spending observed, with the elementary school spending $9,370 per student and the high school spending $12,274 per student in 2020-2021.
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