The reported proficiency rate for Math is 0%.
Original Research by School Decision on Joe Dale Sparks Campus
Joe Dale Sparks Campus is an alternative school serving grades five through twelve in Denton, operated by Denton ISD. It is a public school, not a charter, located in a mid-sized growing city that sits within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
The school enrolls a small student population across a wide grade span, with the overwhelming majority of enrollment concentrated in high school grades and much smaller numbers in middle grades. About two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with roughly equal shares identifying as Hispanic and Black, a smaller share as White, and others as Asian or multiracial.
State testing data for grades five and six is too sparse to yield a proficiency rate; data is also missing or suppressed for grades five through eight in English language arts and science. For seventh grade math, where data is reported, no students achieved proficiency on the STAAR assessment. Grade eight math and science data are similarly sparse. The available testing results show difficulty across the assessed grade bands, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand student support structures, how achievement is tracked and addressed, and what academic outcomes the school tracks beyond state testing.
Most assessment data at the school level is either missing or suppressed, which typically occurs when tested cohorts are very small. This reflects the alternative school setting and the small enrollment in tested grades. Multiyear trend data is suppressed across all subjects and proficiency levels. Because the school does not serve a traditional high school completion pathway, a graduation rate is not applicable and no data on that metric appears.
Within Denton County's districts, Joe Dale Sparks Campus's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile, meaning its tested students are scoring below the median performance seen across the county's other districts.
Denton itself is a city in transition. Downtown and the Denton Square form the historic civic and cultural core, with shops, restaurants, live music, and festivals. The University of North Texas and Texas Woman's University are central institutions anchoring the local economy and daily life. Outer neighborhoods are more suburban and car-dependent. The city is in the path of North Texas growth, with mixed-use development near downtown and universities, industrial warehouse expansion along major corridors, and newer residential areas such as Rayzor Ranch. Housing values have declined modestly over the past year, and rental prices have also ticked downward. The local labor market is steady with an unemployment rate close to the national norm.
Denton ISD has undergone significant changes. In May 2023, voters approved a record bond to fund new schools, a fifth high school, an advanced technology center, and facility upgrades across the district, the largest capital plan in district history. In November 2025, voters approved a five-cent property tax rate increase to address a budget shortfall and fund teacher salaries, safety, and programs, reversing six years of rate decreases. The district also consolidated positions in 2024-25 and 2025-26, including some classroom roles and program reductions. Beginning Fall 2026, the district is relaunching a full-time virtual K-12 program called Denton Digital with hybrid options. Additionally, Paloma Creek Elementary is being repurposed and its students reassigned to higher-performing schools because the campus did not meet state standards for multiple consecutive years.
As an alternative school with very small tested cohorts and suppressed or missing data in most subjects and grades, Joe Dale Sparks Campus sits outside the typical district achievement profile. Families considering this school should engage directly with staff about the school's purpose, its support model for students, and what measurable outcomes it prioritizes, since state testing data is too limited here to characterize academic performance in standard terms.
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