The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in Science. The lowest is 22% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Thomas Ies
Thomas IES serves students in grades four through eight in Holdenville, Oklahoma, part of the Holdenville Public Schools district. It is a traditional public school, not a charter, and its grade band covers the upper elementary and middle school years. The school is located on South Oliphant Street within the small city that functions as the county seat of Hughes County.
Holdenville’s economy has historically centered on agriculture, with major employers including a Tyson Foods subsidiary, a state fish hatchery, a private prison, and a Muscogee (Creek) Nation casino. The tribe broke ground on a new medical facility in early 2026. The town experienced an EF3 tornado in April 2024 that caused extensive damage and two fatalities, a recent event that families moving to the area may want to understand in terms of recovery and rebuilding. The population has grown modestly over the past decade, and housing values are well below both state and national benchmarks, reflecting the area’s rural and lower-cost character.
State testing results from the 2024-25 school year give a clear picture of academic performance at Thomas IES. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above varies widely by grade. Fourth graders reached a moderate level, with just under half meeting the bar. Fifth and sixth graders were lower, with roughly a fifth to a third proficient. Seventh grade math results were not reported due to data suppression. Eighth grade math showed a very small proportion of students at proficiency, a sharp drop that a parent may want to discuss with the school. In English language arts, proficiency rates were similarly low across grades five through eight, ranging from roughly a fifth to a quarter of students meeting the standard; fourth grade ELA data was suppressed. Science results were available only for eighth grade, where just under a third of students scored proficient. The overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places Thomas IES below the midpoint among the handful of districts in Hughes County that report comparable data.
The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a substantial Native American presence. Smaller shares of students are Hispanic, Black, and of two or more races. Information on economic disadvantage, special education, and English learner status was not available in the data provided, which limits a full picture of the support needs present in the building. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider.
The district brief turned up no recent changes of lasting impact at the district level. A parent evaluating Thomas IES will find a school in a small, rural community with modest housing costs and a local economy anchored by agriculture and institutional employers. The academic results show clear soft spots, particularly in middle-grade math and reading, and the school’s performance is lower than the county median. Families would be well served by asking the school about interventions for struggling students, the factors behind the eighth-grade math dip, and any tutoring or enrichment programs available.
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