Milam El, Midland TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Milam El

Milam Elementary is a charter school serving pre-K through sixth grade in Midland with an enrollment of roughly four to five hundred students. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a large majority of families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a school that serves a lower-income section of the Midland community.

The 2024-25 state assessment data shows mixed performance across the tested grades. In English Language Arts, results vary considerably by grade level. Third graders in Spanish-language instruction posted low proficiency, while fourth graders showed notably stronger performance, and fifth graders performed better still. Sixth graders, tested in English, reached proficiency at a rate around the middle of the range. In mathematics, the picture is less consistent: third graders had low proficiency; fourth grade data was too sparse to report; fifth graders showed very low proficiency; and sixth graders achieved proficiency around the middle level. Science testing in fifth grade yielded no students at proficiency. Overall, when all subjects and grades are combined, the school's proficiency index falls below the midpoint among the four districts in Midland County.

The school's performance reflects a student population that includes many Spanish-language learners. Several grades tested on the Spanish-language version of the STAAR assessment, which may account for some of the variation between adjacent grades. The particularly weak showing in science and the uneven pattern across early elementary grades suggest areas where the school may want to focus instructional intensity, though a parent may want to look into further detail with the school about how reading instruction and mathematics support are structured in the lower grades.

Midland ISD itself is in the midst of a major facilities expansion. In November 2023, the community approved a substantial bond package, the largest school bond in the district's history, to address years of overcrowding and build two new comprehensive high schools plus a new elementary campus. This bond is triggering a major grade reconfiguration set for 2028, in which sixth graders will move from elementary schools into middle schools district-wide, and the district will shift from ninth-grade-only freshman campuses to integrated comprehensive high schools. Around the same time the bond passed, the district also moved its early literacy instruction from a whole-language to a phonics-based, science-of-reading curriculum using Amplify Texas, a change that directly affects how Milam's youngest students are being taught.

Midland is a West Texas oil city with a tight-knit community feeling and strong energy-sector economy. The city has sustained population growth, concentrated in newer subdivisions, especially in northwest Midland. Housing values and rents in the area are moderately priced relative to national benchmarks, though the school's location and the high proportion of economically disadvantaged families suggest it serves neighborhoods without those newer amenities. The immediate area around the school is car-dependent, and walkability is low across the city, though downtown Midland has parks and library services and is undergoing revitalization efforts. For families considering Milam, the school's strength lies in its local presence in the community, while the proficiency data and gaps in performance signal that parents may want to have conversations with school leadership about instructional priorities, especially in early grades.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 41% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 43% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 43% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 46% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 40% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 31% · ▲ 39 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 51% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 27% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolMIDLAND 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 4Lower-income44%Higher-income58%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income63%Higher-income61%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income71%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income26%Higher-income40%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income55%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income65%15 pp gap