The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Bushland Int
Bushland Intermediate serves third through fifth graders in Bushland ISD, a district on the western edge of the Amarillo area that has been growing rapidly as families relocate to the region. The school is a regular public school, not a charter, and feeds into a district that has been building new facilities to keep pace with its expanding enrollment.
On Texas STAAR assessments, the school's results are mixed across grades and subjects, and a parent should look at the grade-level picture carefully rather than taking any single number as the whole story. In reading and language arts, fourth grade stands out as the strongest year, with a clear majority of students reaching the proficient-or-above threshold and a solid share meeting the higher "meets grade level" standard. Third and fifth grade ELA results are more modest, with roughly three in five students reaching proficiency. Math follows a similar shape: third and fourth grade are reasonably solid, with most students proficient, while fifth grade math drops to about half. Across all subjects combined, the school places in the top quartile relative to the other districts in Potter County, which is a meaningful position in that comparison set. The STAAR "approaches" category, the minimum passing bar, is quite high for both ELA and math schoolwide, suggesting most students are clearing the floor, but the "masters" rate, the highest performance tier, is modest, indicating that deep mastery is less common. Science at fifth grade is the most notable soft spot: only about one in four students reached proficiency on the STAAR science exam, a result that stands out even against the school's otherwise middling-to-solid scores. A parent with a child heading into fifth grade who values science preparation may want to ask the school directly about how that curriculum is structured and what supports exist.
The student body is moderately sized for a three-grade elementary campus. The racial and ethnic composition is predominantly white, with a meaningful Hispanic population and smaller shares of other groups. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is low compared to many Texas schools and reflects the community's economic profile. Data on English learner enrollment and special education rates were not available in the data provided, so families with children who may need those services should ask the district directly.
The district context matters here. Bushland ISD voted to pass a bond several years ago to address growth, and that bond funded both a new PreK-2 elementary campus and a new high school that opened for the 2024-2025 school year. The intermediate school itself, serving grades three through five, was also reconfigured as part of that construction program, publicly reported as moving into a renovated middle school building as grade levels were redistributed across campuses. The district has acknowledged it was outgrowing its prior facilities, and a demographic study confirmed the population trend was continuing upward. For a family thinking about long-term enrollment stability, this is a district actively investing in capacity rather than managing decline.
The broader Amarillo area, where most families in Bushland ISD likely work and shop, has an economy anchored by healthcare, defense contracting at Pantex, food processing, aerospace manufacturing, and regional services. Housing values in the zip code are above the Texas statewide median and have appreciated modestly year-over-year, though they remain somewhat below national averages, making the area relatively accessible by current standards. Rents are moderate. The city itself is car-dependent outside of a walkable downtown core, and the Bushland area is on the western edge, a suburban-to-rural setting rather than an urban neighborhood.
No information on program offerings, gifted and talented access, extracurriculars, or staffing ratios was available in the data, and those are worth asking the school about directly. Chronic absenteeism data was also not reported, so the school's attendance climate is unclear from external sources.
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