Clifton Middle, Clifton TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Clifton Middle

Clifton Middle serves grades six through eight in a small Texas town known for its arts identity and Norwegian heritage. The school enrolls a small student body, just over two hundred, with a racial and ethnic composition that is predominantly white with a substantial Hispanic population and a few students of other backgrounds. About three in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating economic pressure in the community.

On state assessments, the school shows uneven proficiency across grades and subjects. English language arts performance is relatively strongest: sixth graders reach proficiency rates around the midpoint, seventh graders about half, and eighth graders near that level. Math tells a different story. Sixth graders in math perform near the level of their English peers, but seventh grade represents a sharp drop, with proficiency falling to less than a third of the class. Eighth grade math improves from that low point but remains below sixth-grade performance. Science proficiency in eighth grade sits below the midpoint, as does social studies. Across all tested areas, the school shows a pattern of strength in early grades and a tightening of proficiency as students move through middle school. When viewed through the complete STAAR achievement levels, less than a quarter of students reach the advanced "master" level in any subject; most proficient students land in the "meets" tier.

Among the districts in Bosque County, Clifton Middle's overall proficiency index sits above the median, positioning it in the upper half of the county's schools on this measure. That said, the data reveals a school where majorities of students in grades seven and eight fall short of proficiency in math and science, areas where academic gaps often widen as students enter high school. A parent may want to ask the school about supports for students working below proficiency in these subjects and about any tutoring or intervention structures, particularly for the transition from sixth to seventh grade in mathematics.

The town itself is a rural arts hub with a downtown anchored by galleries, antique shops, and a historic theater, set in a community where most people know one another. School facilities sit on a consolidated campus outside the downtown core. Housing values are modest relative to state and national benchmarks, and the local economy is anchored by education, healthcare, and small manufacturing. The district operates under a renewed Local District of Innovation plan, which grants flexibility in certain staffing and attendance policies, a framework now in place through the end of 2027-28.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 22 pts above state median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 27%

even with state median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 1 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 659%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Science

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 19 pts above state median

This schoolCLIFTON 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-income48%Higher-income74%26 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income58%Higher-income47%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income77%46 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income71%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income34%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income27%Higher-income59%32 pp gap