The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in Math. The lowest is 43% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on East Side Int
East Side Intermediate is a small school in Palacios, a coastal town in southwestern Matagorda County halfway between Houston and Corpus Christi, known for its shrimp fleet and bayfront character. The school serves grades three through five and enrolls about a quarter-thousand students, most of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller white population and a few Asian and multiracial students.
In the most recent state assessments, East Side's performance in math shows modest proficiency. Fourth-grade math proficiency sits at about sixty percent, while fifth-grade math is at about fifty-two percent. Third-grade math results were reported but with very small test counts, making those results difficult to interpret reliably. In English language arts, third-grade proficiency was lower, at about twenty-nine percent, while fourth grade reached about fifty-six percent. Fifth-grade ELA results came from a very small Spanish-language test group and cannot be meaningfully compared. Science testing occurred only in fifth grade, again with minimal participation, so that result cannot be assessed.
Across all tested subjects and grades where results were reportable, East Side's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the five districts in Matagorda County. This positions the school above the median performance in its county peer group, a meaningful strength given the demographics and resources the school serves.
The school is newly housed. In late 2024, Palacios ISD opened a brand-new pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade campus, consolidating previously separate buildings. The district funded this through a voter-approved bond, a decision that commits the town's property tax base for years ahead. The district now operates two campuses: the new elementary school serving pre-K through fifth grade, and a separate sixth-through-twelfth-grade building. For families in the Palacios area, this reorganization means East Side no longer exists as a standalone intermediate school; the new structure combines all elementary grades on one modern campus.
The setting is compact and walkable. Palacios centers on its waterfront seawall and bayfront parks, with the schools located within the town itself rather than on a distant campus. Downtown revitalization and new housing development, including two subdivisions aimed at first-time homebuyers and families relocating to the area, reflect modest population growth. The local economy is anchored by commercial seafood operations at the Port of Palacios and employment at a nearby nuclear plant, with some workforce turnover creating housing demand.
Home values in the area are below state and national benchmarks, and the homeownership rate is relatively high. Most residents drive to work, with an average commute of roughly fifteen minutes. The town is car-dependent overall, though the bayfront seawall and parks offer walkable recreation space.
What a parent might want to look into further is the transition itself. East Side as a distinct intermediate school no longer operates; enrollment has moved into the new consolidated elementary campus. How the new facility has organized instruction, staffing, and third-through-fifth-grade programming in its first year would be worth exploring directly with the school, as would the experience families had during the consolidation. The school's performance data is solid for its county context, but the organizational change is significant and recent.
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