Harris County Juvenile Detention Center, Houston TX

Original Research by School Decision on Harris County Juvenile Detention Center

The Harris County Juvenile Detention Center school serves students in sixth through twelfth grade as part of Excel Academy, an open-enrollment charter operated by the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department. This is an alternative school for youth in detention, on probation, or expelled from conventional public schools. It sits downtown Houston at a secure facility and is not a school families choose in the traditional sense; students are assigned based on involvement with the juvenile justice system.

The enrollment is small, roughly in the range of a hundred students. Most are male, and the population is predominantly Black, with a substantial Latino share and very few white students. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves mostly ninth and tenth graders, with smaller numbers in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade and a handful in eleventh and twelfth.

State testing data shows very low proficiency. In seventh-grade math, a small fraction of students tested scored at proficient level or above. In eighth-grade math, no students achieved proficiency. In eighth-grade English language arts, no students scored proficient or above. Science and social studies results for eighth grade were also zero proficiency. Grade six English had too few test-takers to report a result. These scores place the school in the bottom quartile for proficiency compared to other districts in Harris County.

A parent or educator may want to look into further detail with the school about the academic supports available and the specific instructional approaches used, given the testing results. It is important to recognize that detention and alternative settings serve students who have experienced significant disruption, justice involvement, or expulsion, often after years of unmet needs in conventional schools. The learning environment and student body composition reflect this: this is not a pathway for academic advancement in the conventional sense, but rather a school of last resort and a point of intervention for young people in crisis. The state testing results do not tell the full story of what this school accomplishes—that would require direct conversation with staff about reengagement, behavior stabilization, credit recovery, transition planning, and reunion with family or community resources. A parent or guardian whose child is placed here should ask the school directly about how it supports re-entry, what career or workforce pathways it offers, what mental health and counseling services are available, and how it coordinates with probation officers and other agencies to make a plan for life after detention.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

Not publicly reportedCohort of 1 student · Class of 2021

The federal source does not publish a graduation rate for cohorts this small. The cohort size is shown for context.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,779 schools plotted. 59 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 6% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 43 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 711%

School 11% · District 6% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 5% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 55 pts below state median · ▼ 54 pts below county median

Science

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 2% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 43 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 3% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

This schoolEXCEL ACADEMY, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.