The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 41% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Forsan El
Forsan Elementary sits on West Main Street in Big Spring, a small, car-dependent West Texas county seat shaped by oil-and-gas heritage, federal employment, and regional highway and rail infrastructure. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade in a compact enrollment of about that size across grade levels, with a student body that is somewhat less than half White and somewhat more than two-fifths Hispanic, drawing from a community where roughly half of families qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
The school's state assessment results paint a picture of mixed but uneven performance. In English Language Arts, Forsan Elementary performs above the midpoint when measured against other districts in Howard County. Reading proficiency improves as students advance: third graders show just over half meeting or exceeding the state's proficiency bar, fourth graders hold roughly the same share, and fifth graders push into the low majority range. In math, the pattern reverses, with third graders performing better than fourth and fifth graders, and fourth graders showing particularly low performance. Fifth-grade science proficiency sits at about the same level as math and reading at that grade. Across all tested subjects, only a fifth of students achieve mastery-level performance, while a strong majority reach the "approaches" threshold, meaning most students are engaged with grade-level content but many fall short of meeting it fully. A parent may want to look into further what supports the school offers for students not yet meeting proficiency and what the trajectory has been over multiple years, since only one year of data is available here.
Big Spring itself has experienced modest population decline over recent decades from a higher peak, though it retains its role as Howard County's seat and largest town. The downtown, anchored by the restored Hotel Settles, concentrates civic institutions including the courthouse, county library, and government buildings. Schools sit on separate campuses rather than in the downtown core. The city is low-walkability and depends entirely on driving; there is no public transit. The local economy relies on public-sector anchors like Howard College, the Veterans Administration hospital, Big Spring State Hospital, and federal facilities including a correctional institution, alongside oil refining tied to Permian Basin supply and a growing logistics base supported by Interstate 20 and rail access. Housing is relatively old, with limited new construction, and median home values run well below the Texas average.
Forsan ISD itself has undergone a significant planning process resulting in a bond referendum approved in May of this year. The district is moving forward with major facilities work including a new academic building at the junior and senior high campus, plus upgrades to the cafeteria, auditorium, and athletic facilities, with portions of aging high school buildings to be demolished. This is a multi-decade local property tax commitment that shapes district finances and signals the district's view of where investment is needed.
Forsan Elementary is a neighborhood elementary school in a smaller district serving a community with modest household income. The school's strength in reading, relative to math, suggests language skills are building. Parents considering this school should seek specifics from the school about interventions for students not yet meeting math and science standards and understand the broader context of a rural, slow-growth region where the district is investing in modernization of secondary facilities.
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