Bushland J H, Amarillo TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Bushland J H

Bushland Junior High is a middle school serving sixth through eighth grade in Bushland ISD, a district experiencing sustained rapid growth on the northern edge of the Amarillo metropolitan area. The school's test results offer a mixed picture that parents should understand grade by grade and subject by subject.

In English language arts, the school performs solidly. Sixth-graders show the strongest proficiency at this grade level. Seventh and eighth graders also show solid performance, with substantial majorities meeting or exceeding state standards. Science and social studies show a wider spread. The school's eighth-grade science results are notably strong, with a large majority of students proficient. Social studies in eighth grade is a softer spot: barely half of eighth-graders meet proficiency on the state assessment, and this is the lowest-performing area in the school's test portfolio.

Mathematics is where parents may want to look closely. Sixth-grade math proficiency sits at about half, rising modestly by seventh grade, and dipping slightly in eighth. Math proficiency does increase from sixth to eighth across the cohort, but the progression is gradual and plateaus below what we see in ELA. The school's data shows that while the vast majority of students at least approach grade-level standards in math, fewer than half reach proficiency in sixth grade, and fewer than three-fifths do so by eighth grade even at the peak grade.

The school enrolls roughly a medium-sized cohort for a suburban middle school, with relatively even distribution across the three grades. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and very small numbers of other racial and ethnic groups. About one in six students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting the school serves families with mixed economic backgrounds but a somewhat lower poverty rate than many Texas districts.

Bushland ISD is building rapidly. In May 2021 voters approved a major bond that funded both a new elementary school and a new high school, which opened in 2024. The district has reconfigured its grade spans in response to enrollment growth, moving from a traditional K-5, 6-8, 9-12 model. Families moving into the Bushland area and beyond into Randall County continue to drive enrollment increases. This growth shapes what the school is, from classroom size to the age and condition of facilities to the community feel. Bushland Junior High, as a campus in an older building before the bond-driven construction wave, sits within a district that is investing in new infrastructure but still managing the pressures of a growing enrollment.

On the county comparison set, Bushland Junior High ranks in the top quartile of Potter County districts for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. That ranking reflects the school's strength in ELA and science balanced against a softer math performance and the weak social studies results in eighth grade. No graduation rate or chronic absenteeism data are available because the school serves only middle grades, not high school or the full span needed for those measures.

The housing market around Bushland remains affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, with median home values modest and rents reasonable. The broader Amarillo area offers a mixed-income environment shaped by major employers in healthcare, defense, food processing, and energy. Whether Bushland's school community fits a family depends on the family's academic priorities, comfort with growth and change, and view of a predominantly white, relatively lower-poverty enrollment. The test data suggests solid ELA instruction and capability in science, with math and social studies as areas where individual student progress may vary more widely.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 50% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 12 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 681%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 879%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 24 pts above state median

Science

Grade 874%

School 74% · District 74%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

This schoolBUSHLAND 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 5Lower-income47%Higher-income70%23 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income87%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income58%Higher-income75%17 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income82%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income59%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income54%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income60%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income53%Higher-income56%3 pp gap