James Bowie Middle, Richmond TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on James Bowie Middle

James Bowie Middle School serves grades six through eight in Richmond, a Fort Bend County seat undergoing rapid suburban growth. The school sits near Harvest Green, a large master-planned community southwest of Houston, and draws students from a diverse residential base that includes both long-established neighborhoods and newly developed areas.

The school enrolled a student body of about that size across its three grades, with roughly even distribution. Racially and ethnically, the enrollment is mixed: Asian students, Black students, white students, and Hispanic students each comprise a substantial share, with smaller representation from other groups. About one-third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a moderate range for economic need.

In English Language Arts, James Bowie shows solid strength across all three grades. Reading and writing proficiency reaches the high level in grades six and seven, and remains strong in eighth grade. The school's ELA performance sits above the midpoint among Fort Bend County districts when proficiency is measured across all tested subjects and grades. In contrast, math proficiency tells a different story. Sixth graders show moderate performance, seventh graders perform better, but eighth graders show notably lower attainment in math. This pattern suggests that as students progress through the school, mathematics presents a growing challenge. Eighth grade is a particular pressure point: math proficiency drops below the median performance level for the grade, and social studies proficiency also falls notably. Science in eighth grade sits in the lower-middle range.

The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among the county's districts, primarily because ELA performance carries the results upward. However, this reflects a gap between language arts strength and math vulnerability. A parent evaluating this school may want to look into what interventions or support structures exist for students who struggle in mathematics, especially as they reach eighth grade, and whether the school has identified the sources of the eighth-grade math decline. The absence of trend data means it is unclear whether this pattern is typical or a recent shift.

State testing data was available for math and ELA across all three grades, plus eighth-grade science and social studies. Testing results for grades six and seven in science and social studies were not provided; this likely reflects that those subjects are tested at the state level only in grade eight.

Richmond itself is a compact historic downtown mixed with rapidly expanding master-planned residential communities. Home values in the area are moderate and stable relative to the state and national benchmarks. Families in the school's catchment area include longtime residents of Richmond and new arrivals to large developments like Harvest Green and Candela. The town offers limited walkability outside its historic core, so many families rely on cars for daily errands and access to regional resources in the Greater Houston area. Fort Bend County government, OakBend Medical Center, and local manufacturing provide employment anchors, supplemented by retail growth tied to new commercial development near Highway 90.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 652%

School 52% · District 46% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 761%

School 61% · District 52% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 39% · ▲ 3 pts above district

even with state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 670%

School 70% · District 62% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 772%

School 72% · District 62% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 65% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 56% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 40% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

This schoolFORT BEND 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 6Lower-income62%Higher-income75%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income62%Higher-income78%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income57%Higher-income81%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income46%Higher-income56%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income55%Higher-income65%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income53%24 pp gap