Of the 455 students at Edgar Allan Poe STEM Dual Language Middle School in Smiley, 432 (95%) weren’t on track for college in the 2023-24 school year, according to San Antonio Standard’s analysis of STAAR scores from the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
The TEA considers students to be on track for college if they demonstrate mastery of the course content through the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR). Students who meet, but do not master their grade level are “prepared to progress to the next grade,” but not yet on college track.
In the 2023-24 school year, Edgar Allan Poe STEM Dual Language Middle School’s student population was made up of 455 students, of which 426 were Hispanic, 16 African American, and nine white students.
Data shows that 6.3% of Edgar Allan Poe STEM Dual Language Middle School’s African American students (1) and 4% of its Hispanic students (17) had “mastered” their grade level that year and were “on track for college and career readiness,” as measured by state academic standards.
In the 2022-23 school year, the TEA noted that 362 Edgar Allan Poe STEM Dual Language Middle School students – equivalent to 96% of the student population – were not on the academic path to college eligibility. This contrasts with 2023-24, when the percentage stood at 95%, marking a 1% decrease from the previous year.
A recent study by WalletHub classified Texas as one of the least-educated states in the U.S., ranking it 41st out of 50 in educational quality and student outcomes.
Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state’s school district. According to a 2024 report from the Texas Education Agency, per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.
“As a result, many districts in our very own Central Texas region are being forced to cut back on essential programs, services, consider school closures, and adopt deficit budgets just to provide students with the education that they deserve,” Hutto ISD Trustee James Matlock stated in an interview.
| School | Total Students | % On College Track |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Learning Academy | 1,071 | 20% |
| Agnes Cotton Academy | 514 | 25% |
| Arnold Elementary School | 590 | 10% |
| Baskin Elementary School | 268 | 16% |
| Beacon Hill Academy | 371 | 11% |
| Bonham Academy | 644 | 17% |
| Bowden Academy | 436 | 6% |
| Brackenridge High School | 1,656 | 7% |
| Briscoe Elementary School | 460 | 5% |
| Burbank High School | 1,314 | 5% |
| CAST Med High School | 204 | 19% |
| Cameron Elementary School | 287 | 11% |
| Carvajal Elementary School | 402 | 2% |
| Cast Tech High School | 506 | 17% |
| Charles C. Ball Elementary School | 373 | 10% |
| Charles Graebner Elementary School | 628 | 4% |
| Collins Garden Elementary School | 413 | 8% |
| Cooper Academy at Navarro | 317 | 7% |
| David Barkley/Francisco Ruiz Elementary School | 294 | 6% |
| David Crockett Academy | 702 | 5% |
| Davis Middle School | 443 | 8% |
| De Zavala Elementary School | 384 | 5% |
| Democracy Prep at Stewart Academy | 595 | 5% |
| Dorie Miller Elementary School | 314 | 6% |
| Douglass Elementary School | 169 | 1% |
| Edgar Allan Poe STEM Dual Language Middle School | 455 | 5% |
| Edison High School | 1,372 | 5% |
| Eloise Japhet Academy | 745 | 6% |
| Estrada Achievement Center | 176 | 0% |
| Fenwick Academy | 517 | 6% |
| Foster Elementary School | 369 | 7% |
| Fox Technical High School | 482 | 12% |
| Franklin Elementary School | 366 | 16% |
| Gates Elementary School | 158 | 8% |
| George E. Kelly Elementary School | 224 | 17% |
| Harris Middle School | 723 | 6% |
| Hawthorne PK-8 Academy | 505 | 13% |
| Healy-Murphy | 132 | 0% |
| Herff Elementary School | 262 | 1% |
| Highland Hills Elementary School | 536 | 8% |
| Highland Park Elementary School | 354 | 24% |
| Highlands High School | 1,492 | 5% |
| Hillcrest Elementary School | 353 | 6% |
| Hirsch Elementary School | 554 | 3% |
| Hot Wells Middle School | 415 | 6% |
| Houston High School | 826 | 5% |
| Huppertz Elementary School | 301 | 4% |
| Irving Dual Language Academy | 560 | 12% |
| J. T. Brackenridge Elementary School | 553 | 6% |
| JJA | 11 | 0% |
| Jefferson High School | 1,625 | 6% |
| Lamar Elementary School | 315 | 17% |
| Lanier High School | 1,612 | 4% |
| Longfellow Middle School | 623 | 8% |
| Lowell Middle School | 283 | 5% |
| Madison Elementary School | 393 | 7% |
| Margil Elementary School | 430 | 6% |
| Mark Twain Dual Language Academy | 672 | 29% |
| Martin Luther King Academy | 193 | 9% |
| Maverick Elementary School | 478 | 9% |
| Mission Academy | 480 | 16% |
| Muriel Forbes Elementary School | 154 | 4% |
| Neal Elementary School | 475 | 10% |
| Ogden Elementary School | 322 | 2% |
| Pershing Elementary School | 273 | 4% |
| Rhodes Middle School | 513 | 4% |
| Riverside Park Elementary School | 275 | 6% |
| Robert B. Green Elementary School | 130 | 20% |
| Rodriguez Montessori Elementary School | 186 | 9% |
| Rogers Academy | 715 | 5% |
| Rogers Middle School | 219 | 5% |
| Sarah School King Elementary | 588 | 7% |
| Schenck Elementary School | 577 | 10% |
| Smith Elementary School | 285 | 9% |
| St. Philip’s College Early College High School with SAISD | 299 | 28% |
| Steele Montessori Elementary School | 365 | 11% |
| Storm Elementary School | 312 | 1% |
| Tafolla Middle School | 609 | 3% |
| Travis Early College High School | 392 | 27% |
| Washington Elementary School | 338 | 8% |
| Whittier Middle School | 709 | 9% |
| Wilson Elementary School | 366 | 10% |
| Woodlawn Academy | 533 | 8% |
| Woodlawn Hills Elementary School | 447 | 5% |
| Young Men’s Leadership Academy | 297 | 11% |
| Young Women’s Leadership Academy | 521 | 41% |
| Young Women’s Leadership Academy Primary at Page | 512 | 20% |
Source: Texas Education Agency.
