Ut Tyler University Academy at Palestine, Palestine TX

Original Research by School Decision on Ut Tyler University Academy at Palestine

UT Tyler University Academy at Palestine is a charter school serving kindergarten through twelfth grade in East Texas. The school enrolls a student body of about two hundred thirty students, with an evenly distributed enrollment across most grades and slight tapering in the high school years. The demographic composition is predominantly white, with meaningful representation of Hispanic students and smaller shares of Black and Asian students.

The school's academic results show a mixed profile across tested subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, the school's performance is notably stronger in the middle and upper grades. Students in grades six through eight show proficiency rates in the high range, with eighth grade particularly strong. In the earlier grades, proficiency rates cluster in the middle range. Mathematics tells a different story. Third and fourth graders show lower proficiency, while fifth grade marks an improvement. Seventh grade math reaches its strongest point school-wide. Overall, math proficiency lags behind language arts.

Science assessment results are limited to grades five and eight, reflecting the state testing schedule. Fifth grade science shows a substantial challenge, with a low proficiency rate. By eighth grade, performance improves markedly to a solid level. Social studies, tested only in eighth grade, sits at a moderate proficiency level.

When looking at the overall academic position, the school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the seven districts in Anderson County. This positioning reflects the pattern evident in the grade-by-grade results: uneven attainment across subjects and grades, with particular softness in elementary mathematics and fifth grade science.

The school is a charter operated under the UT Tyler University Academy banner, distinguishing it from traditional public school governance. Its address on University Boulevard suggests a connection to the university. The school sits on the town's fringe, as most Palestinian schools do, away from the historic downtown. Palestine itself is a county seat of modest size in the Piney Woods between Dallas and Houston, centered on a walkable historic downtown around the Beaux-Arts courthouse, with economic anchors in healthcare, food processing, and research. The local housing market shows modest activity, with median home values somewhat below the state benchmark and rental costs in a similar modest range.

State testing participation data were not provided, so a full picture of whether low proficiency reflects gaps in instructional delivery, student demographics, or assessment participation cannot be drawn from these numbers alone. A parent evaluating this school may want to explore these results with the school directly, particularly the pattern in elementary mathematics and the fifth-to-eighth-grade gap in science, to understand the instructional context and any supports in place.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 19 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

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 338%

School 38% · District 51% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 39% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 52% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 51% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 66% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 31 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 57% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 59% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 66% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 668%

School 68% · District 79% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 80% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median

Grade 881%

School 81% · District 92% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 26 pts above state median

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 37% · ▼ 14 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 77% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 48% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

This schoolUT TYLER UNIVERSITY 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income46%Higher-income64%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income50%0 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income73%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income71%Higher-income64%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income58%Higher-income83%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income73%Higher-income90%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income55%32 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income33%0 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income45%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income55%26 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income58%Higher-income58%0 pp gap