Booker Jh/h S, Booker TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Booker Jh/h S

Booker JH/HS is a small, combined junior and senior high school serving grades six through twelve in a rural town at the top of the Texas Panhandle. The school sits on Main Street in downtown Booker, a close-knit community where agricultural and oil-and-gas economies anchor local life. The enrollment is small, about the size typical for a rural high school in this region, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic and Latino, with roughly a majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The academic picture is mixed and uneven. English language arts is the school's relative strength. Across the grade span, students show solid performance in reading and writing; among eighth graders, three-quarters meet or exceed state reading standards. Writing and communication appear to be areas where students perform comparably or above average when assessed. Math presents a steeper climb. Proficiency rates drop sharply as students move up the grade band: sixth graders show a modest proficiency rate, seventh graders fall to about a quarter meeting standard, and eighth graders show very low attainment, with only a handful meeting grade-level math goals. This pattern suggests students are falling behind in mathematics as content becomes more abstract and cumulative, a challenge many rural schools identify as a priority. Science performance sits in the middle, with eighth graders reaching about half the tested cohort. Social studies is another area of relative weakness across the school; fewer than a third of eighth graders demonstrated mastery on the state test. A parent may want to look into how the school is addressing the steep math decline and whether tutoring, intervention blocks, or staffing changes are in place to support students struggling in this subject.

On a countywide basis, Booker JH/HS ranks at the top of the three school entities in Lipscomb County by overall proficiency, though all perform below state averages. The school's composite proficiency across tested subjects is higher than that of its county neighbors. However, data on graduation rate, college and career readiness, dual-credit or Advanced Placement offerings, and chronic absenteeism were not available, so a parent evaluating the school's pathway to postsecondary options should request that information directly from the school.

The broader context is that of a small, aging rural town experiencing modest population decline. Housing values are modest and below state average, and the local property tax rate is relevant to families considering the district: in 2024 the district raised its maintenance and operations tax rate, and in 2023 voters faced a bond referendum for facility repairs and safety upgrades, including a tornado shelter for elementary students. These are concrete considerations for families weighing whether to relocate or stay in the area.

The school's size offers both trade-offs. Combined junior-senior high allows a smaller pool of peer groups and activities than a large school, but also creates close relationships between students across grade levels and tends to place every student visible in school life. The downtown location keeps school operations embedded in community rather than isolated. What the data does not capture is the day-to-day culture, the quality of teaching and mentorship, student engagement, or sports and extracurricular life, all of which vary widely among small schools and matter deeply to how students experience their education.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 17 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 645%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 29%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 6%

▼ 36 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 80%

▲ 28 pts above state median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 20 pts above state median

Science

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 32%

▲ 8 pts above state median

This schoolBOOKER ISD, 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 6Lower-income67%Higher-income90%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income64%Higher-income43%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income68%Higher-income89%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income70%48 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income43%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income0%Higher-income20%20 pp gap