Paint Rock School, Paint Rock TX

Original Research by School Decision on Paint Rock School

Paint Rock School is a small PreK-12 campus serving a community of about a hundred families in a quiet, declining ranching-and-farming county seat on the Edwards Plateau in central Texas. The enrollment of about a hundred and eighty students flows across all grade levels from a single building on the south side of town, about a short walk from the courthouse square that anchors civic life.

Academic performance on state assessments is notably weak across the board. In English language arts, the school shows mixed results: reading proficiency in third grade sits in the middle range, and eighth grade holds steady, but seventh grade lags considerably. In math, the pattern is starker and more concerning. Proficiency rates in third through sixth grade fall below the middle of the range, and by middle school they drop sharply; seventh and eighth grade math proficiency rates are very low, with nearly all students falling below the state's proficient threshold. Science proficiency is similarly strained, with a score of zero in fifth grade and modest performance in eighth grade. Social studies in eighth grade shows no students meeting the proficient standard. On the positive side, the school's overall proficiency in English language arts across all grades sits slightly above the midpoint when compared to the other district in Concho County, though math and science proficiency fall below that benchmark.

The demographic picture is rural and economically stressed. More than four out of five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating deep household financial need. The student body is about evenly split between white and Hispanic students, with a small representation of other groups. The school operates in a setting of long-term population decline; the town peaked decades ago and has stabilized at a modest size, and no major new housing development is visible in the area. One significant recent shift is the completion in 2023 of a large utility-scale solar project a short distance away, which is projected to provide substantial ongoing tax revenue to the district over many years. For a tiny district with minimal residential tax base, this kind of industrial revenue is unusual and materially matters to its financial health.

High school performance data are not available in the state testing reports, so the narrative of academic pathway and post-secondary readiness cannot be drawn from the data provided. No information on dual-credit offerings, career programs, AP courses, or graduation rate appears in the record. A parent may want to look into these directly with the school if college or career-technical preparation is a priority.

The setting itself is distinctly rural and close-knit. The single campus design means all students move through one building from early childhood through twelfth grade, which creates continuity but also limits program separation. Civic life is tethered to the courthouse square, outdoor recreation on the Concho River, and occasional events; street life is sparse and car-dependent. Housing is affordable by state standards, though incomes are also low. This is a place where a family would need to be comfortable with small scale, limited commercial services, and an economy historically tied to agriculture and now anchored partly on public employment and energy projects. The school's weak testing outcomes, combined with the absence of visible college-prep or technical pathway data, suggest limited academic preparation for students aiming toward universities or specialized careers, though the data does not explain the causes.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=50%Cohort of 11 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

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 333%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 25% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 13% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 19% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 76%

School 6% · District 4% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 6% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 44% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 40% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 40% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 50% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 21% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 24 pts below state median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 39% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 23 pts below state median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 23% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 24 pts below state median

This schoolPAINT ROCK 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-income57%Higher-income60%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income20%9 pp gap