The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Frank Newman Middle
Frank Newman Middle School serves sixth through eighth graders in Cotulla, a small county-seat town in South Texas's Brush Country, roughly midway between San Antonio and Laredo on I-35. The school is part of Cotulla ISD, which serves a community shaped by ranching traditions, Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas activity, and a predominantly working-class economy where public administration, healthcare, and accommodation sectors provide many of the steadiest jobs.
The student body is nearly entirely Hispanic, with a very small share of white students and no reported enrollment from other racial or ethnic groups. The vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the broader Cotulla community. English learner and special education population data were not available in what was provided.
On the Texas STAAR assessments, Frank Newman's results paint a mixed picture that parents should look at carefully. Reading and language arts show a clear upward arc through the grades: sixth graders approach proficiency at a rate below half, seventh graders are modestly higher, and eighth graders cross the majority threshold, which is the strongest single result in the data set. Math tells the opposite story in terms of grade-level spread. Sixth-grade math proficiency is low, well below what the state would consider on-track for that grade, and eighth-grade math, while notably higher, still leaves most students below the meets-grade-level bar. Eighth-grade science proficiency sits in roughly the same range as eighth-grade math. Social studies, tested only in eighth grade, has the lowest proficiency rate of any subject and grade combination reported. Across all subjects combined, a majority of students reach the "approaches" level, Texas's minimum passing threshold, but the share meeting or mastering grade-level standards drops off sharply from there. These are soft spots worth raising directly with the school, particularly in math and social studies, where fewer than a quarter of eighth graders reached the meets-grade-level standard.
Trend data covers only the current year, so there is no multi-year trajectory to read. It is not possible from this data to say whether results are improving, stable, or declining.
Because La Salle County has only one district, no meaningful peer comparison is available. The comparison set for this school effectively contains only itself, so the data does not support any positioning against neighboring districts.
The housing market in and around Cotulla is modest in scale and has seen meaningful price declines year over year, putting home values well below both the Texas and national medians. The for-sale inventory is thin, with homes sitting on the market for extended periods, according to publicly reported data. Rental data was not available. For families relocating here, the affordability picture is relatively accessible compared to most Texas markets, though the market's small size limits choices.
Cotulla ISD itself is in a period of active institutional change that a family considering the district should understand. A voter-approved bond from 2022 is funding a full rebuild and expansion of Cotulla High School, with a multi-phase completion expected by late 2026. Students there have been temporarily housed in other facilities during construction. A subsequent bond, placed on the 2025 ballot to cover rising costs and a funding gap, relies heavily on oil and gas mineral tax revenues from the Eagle Ford Shale rather than residential property taxes. The district also opened a new elementary campus in late 2021. Looking ahead, Cotulla ISD is publicly reported to be launching an Early College High School in fall 2026, which would allow students to earn college credit toward an associate degree while still in high school. That pathway does not yet affect current middle schoolers in their remaining years at Frank Newman, but it is relevant for families thinking about the full K-12 arc in this district.
Program details specific to Frank Newman Middle were not available in the data provided. Course offerings, extracurricular activities, staffing ratios, attendance patterns, and discipline data were all absent from what was reported, so a parent interested in those dimensions would want to contact the school directly.
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