Petrolia El, Petrolia TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Petrolia El

Petrolia Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in a very small, settled rural community of about five hundred people in northern Clay County, roughly fifteen to eighteen miles east of Wichita Falls. The school's enrollment sits around two hundred sixty students, with each grade spanning roughly thirty to thirty-six children. Most students live in homes rather than apartments, and the median age of the surrounding area is notably high, reflecting a quiet, family-oriented, and stable residential texture.

A substantial share of Petrolia Elementary's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting modest household incomes across the school's service area. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller representations of Hispanic, Native American, and other backgrounds. The school is a regular public elementary, part of Petrolia Consolidated Independent School District, which in fall 2021 shifted to a four-day school week for most weeks. Parents should understand that this affects weekly schedules and childcare arrangements.

On state testing across grades three through six, the school's proficiency results fall below the midpoint for districts in Clay County. In math, proficiency rates range from about thirty percent in third grade to around fifty percent in sixth grade, with a gentle upward trend as students advance. Reading and language arts results follow a similar pattern, rising from roughly forty percent proficiency in third grade to about fifty-four percent in sixth grade. Science proficiency was notably low at around seventeen percent in fifth grade, the only grade where science is tested at the elementary level. These numbers tell a straightforward story: students generally show more solid ground in the upper elementary grades, but across the board, fewer than half of students are meeting grade-level standards in the younger grades and in science. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports are available for students who are not yet proficient and what interventions the school uses in science instruction.

When proficiency levels are examined in finer detail, about three-quarters of all students across the school approach grade-level standards in math and reading, meaning they are close but not yet there. About forty percent meet those standards outright, while a smaller share master them. In science, the gap is wider: only about sixty percent of students approach grade level, and just seventeen percent meet or exceed it.

The school sits within Petrolia's school district, which serves the small towns of Petrolia, Dean, and Byers. The district does not publish a website or recent strategic priorities that were available through public search. The community itself is car-dependent, with State Highway 79 as the main road spine. The school campus functions as the civic and social anchor for the area. Housing in Petrolia is aging, predominantly single-family homes at modest values. Population has declined over decades from an early-1900s oil-boom peak and remains small and stable rather than growing.

For a family, Petrolia Elementary is a small, neighborhood-oriented school in a quiet, long-settled rural place. Test scores indicate academic work below the county midpoint, with particular challenges in the early elementary grades and in science. The four-day school week is a feature to factor into family logistics. The school is not selective or alternative in type; it serves the community as a traditional public elementary. Families should weigh whether the academic performance data and the small-town, car-dependent setting fit their expectations and whether they want to investigate the school's specific instructional approaches and support programs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 651%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 17 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Science

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 6 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 31% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median

This schoolPETROLIA CISD, 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 3Lower-income50%Higher-income31%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income40%Higher-income30%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income47%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income57%Higher-income50%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income92%Higher-income88%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income19%Higher-income44%25 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income30%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income25%Higher-income58%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income48%Higher-income57%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income69%Higher-income47%22 pp gap