Dawson School, Welch TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Dawson School

Dawson School sits on Brownfield Highway in Welch, a remote, unincorporated crossroads in Dawson County where cotton farming and Permian Basin oil work define the local economy. The school campus is, in a genuine sense, the civic center of the community: there is no downtown, no library confirmed by available sources, and the school is the one institution that gathers the community together. Pre-K through twelfth grade share a single building, which means a child who starts here in pre-K will walk out the same doors as a senior twelve or thirteen years later.

The enrollment is very small, even for a school that spans all grade levels. Most grade cohorts are single-digit or barely into double digits. That intimacy shapes everything: class sizes are tiny, every student is known to the staff, and older and younger students share common spaces daily. It also means extracurriculars, electives, and peer diversity are constrained in ways a larger school would not face.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial white minority. A large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic character of the surrounding community. English learner and special education counts were not available in the data.

On state STAAR assessments, the academic picture is mixed and, in math especially, weak. In English language arts, results vary noticeably by grade: fourth and fifth graders reached proficiency at rates that suggest real strength for those cohorts, while third, sixth, and seventh grade ELA results were considerably lower. Eighth grade ELA came in at a moderate level. Math is a more consistent concern across the grade span: most tested grades showed very low proficiency, and two grade levels recorded no students reaching the proficient threshold at all. Eighth grade math was the relative high point but still fell short of what one would call a strong result. Science results split similarly, with fifth grade science showing no proficiency and eighth grade science reaching a moderate level. Eighth grade social studies proficiency was very low. A caveat worth keeping in mind: each cohort is so small that a single student's result can swing the school's reported rate meaningfully, so these figures reflect real outcomes but should be read with that volatility in mind.

Stepping back to the broader Texas STAAR framework, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint relative to other districts in Dawson County, which provides a local reference point, though Dawson County itself is a small rural county and that comparison set is narrow.

Multi-year trend data is not available; only a single year of results was in the data, so there is no way to say whether performance has been improving, declining, or holding steady. That is a gap a parent may want to explore directly with the school or district.

For high school, graduation rates were not available in the data provided. AP, dual credit, and career pathway offerings were not reported, so it is not possible to say what academic pathways await students in the upper grades. A parent of a high schooler would be well served to ask the school directly about the course catalog and any college preparatory or vocational options.

Welch itself offers a spare, rural setting. Residents predominantly own their homes. The community is car-dependent; there is no documented public transit and no walkable commercial area. The economy runs on agriculture and nearby oil-field work, and third-party population estimates conflict enough that the overall trajectory is unclear, though the community appears stable at a low level rather than growing.

No major district changes, bond programs, or curriculum shifts were found in publicly available information, so this appears to be a district operating without major near-term structural disruption.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

Not publicly reportedCohort of 4 students · Class of 2021

The federal source does not publish a graduation rate for cohorts this small. The cohort size is shown for context.

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 315%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 41 pts below state median

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 70%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 27 pts below state median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 22 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 78%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 41 pts below state median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 23 pts below state median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 14 pts below state median

This schoolDAWSON 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 7Lower-income13%Higher-income0%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income40%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income0%Higher-income0%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income0%40 pp gap