Original Research by School Decision on Cross Roads H S
Cross Roads High School is a small public high school in Malakoff, a rural city in western Henderson County about an hour's drive southeast of Dallas. The school draws from a four-county region around Cedar Creek Lake and serves about two hundred students across grades nine through twelve.
The student body is predominantly white, with smaller numbers of Hispanic and other students. About two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting modest household incomes across the district's service area. The special-education and English-learner enrollment data were not available.
State assessment results from the most recent year show strength in math and science proficiency. Nearly all students meet or exceed the approaches level in math, and all students do so in science. At the meets level and higher, math performance stands notably above English language arts: about seven in ten students reach the meets threshold in math, compared to roughly six in ten in ELA. A smaller share master the material across all subjects. In social studies, performance tilts toward approaches rather than mastery, with about seven in ten reaching meets. Overall, about nine in ten students across all tested areas reach at least the approaches level, and roughly seven in ten reach the meets level. State test results represent only one year of data, so trends cannot be assessed.
The school does not report a four-year graduation rate, likely because the data were not available for this cohort year. A parent seeking that information should contact the school directly.
Malakoff itself is a working-class town built around the Malakoff Power Station and Cedar Creek Lake. The housing market is affordable relative to the broader region, with median home values in the low two-hundred-thousands and a strong homeownership rate. The town center is small and car-dependent, clustered around North Terry Street and West Royall Boulevard, with a library, post office, and handful of local businesses. The Red Waller Community Library and civic complex anchor daily life. Common employment is in education, industrial production, and health care, with skilled trades jobs tied to the power station drawing from a stable regional workforce.
The broader Henderson County context includes eight school districts. The comparison metrics that would position Cross Roads High School against those districts—overall proficiency index, graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism—were not available for analysis, so a direct peer standing cannot be stated. A parent interested in how this school's outcomes compare to others in the county would benefit from reaching out to the district office or reviewing the Texas Education Agency's publicly reported data for other county schools.
Cross Roads ISD serves Malakoff and surrounding communities including Star Harbor and portions of neighboring towns. Rock Tower Stadium serves as a community gathering point during football season. Information about district strategic priorities or recent changes was limited in the available sources, so parents may want to contact the district directly about current initiatives or planned developments.
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