Texas Preparatory School, San Marcos TX

Original Research by School Decision on Texas Preparatory School

Texas Preparatory School is a charter school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in San Marcos. It is a small campus with an enrollment of roughly sixty students spread across seven grade levels. The school is operated by the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Central Texas and is part of a two-campus district that also includes an Austin location.

San Marcos itself is a college town anchored by Texas State University, with a historic downtown core and rapid growth driven by its location between Austin and San Antonio on Interstate 35. The city has major employers in the university, outlet shopping, logistics, and retail. Housing values in the area are close to the state benchmark, and the downtown is described as walkable with access to riverfront parks, local government offices, and a Main Street district.

The school's most recent state test results show uneven performance across grades. In English language arts, proficiency ranged from roughly nothing in fifth grade to about half of sixth-graders meeting the standard. In third and fourth grades, English results were considerably lower. Math proficiency was weaker across the board, with fourth grade showing no students at proficiency and most other grades posting single-digit or low double-digit proficiency rates. Science testing data for fifth grade was suppressed, likely due to small sample size. A parent looking at these numbers would find them well below what Texas students typically achieve statewide.

The school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the eight districts in Hays County. No state graduation rate applies, as the school does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data and detailed staffing information were not available.

The student body is diverse. About a third of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment breaks down as roughly Hispanic majority, with White and Black students also present in smaller shares. Special education enrollment and English learner status data were not reported.

A parent considering this school should be aware that the district's broader academic trajectory merits attention. The Austin campus has experienced a sustained enrollment and staffing decline over several years, falling to roughly a third of its earlier size. While that is the other campus, it reflects the operational context and stability families might weigh. The San Marcos campus itself serves a small population, which affects what course and support breadth may be feasible. The consistent gap between this school's test results and state-level performance is a direct measure families would need to evaluate carefully against their own priorities and the alternatives available in the area.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 314%

School 14% · district not reported

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 40%

School 0% · District 0%

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

Grade 610%

School 10% · district not reported

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 314%

School 14% · district not reported

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

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 0% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 50%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 60 pts below county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolTEXAS PREPARATORY SCHOOL, 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.