Rotan K-12, Rotan TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Rotan K-12

Rotan K-12 is a combined pre-K through grade twelve school serving a small rural town in West Texas, where education, manufacturing centered on a gypsum plant, and agriculture anchor the local economy. The school enrolls a modest student body drawn from a compact, walkable community where homes, school, and downtown sit close together on quiet streets. Rotan's population has declined over decades as mechanized farming reduced the rural base it serves, and recent employment data shows continued contraction, a context that shapes both family stability and school finances.

The school's most immediate challenge is low and uneven academic proficiency. In English language arts, about half of tested students meet grade-level standards across grades three through eight. Math proficiency is weaker, with only a small share of fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth graders meeting standards; eighth grade math proficiency is particularly low. Science proficiency at grade five is critically low, and eighth grade science shows only modest achievement. Social studies proficiency in grade eight is also weak. Reading results are stronger than math, and elementary grades generally outperform middle grades, a pattern that suggests students struggle as content becomes more complex or as peer dynamics shift. The school reports no state trend data across multiple years, so whether these results reflect recent decline, stability, or earlier trouble cannot be determined from the data available.

Student composition is mixed. About half of enrolled students identify as Hispanic and about four in ten as white, with a small Black student population. About seven in ten qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating substantial economic need. The school serves students across the full K-12 span, which means no high school graduation rate or transcript data were provided to assess college readiness or completion pathways. No data on special education enrollment, English learner services, or advanced or career-technical offerings were available, leaving gaps in understanding the breadth of instructional support and pathways this school provides.

Housing in the area is affordable. Median home values are modest, and monthly mortgage estimates based on current rates are low, making entry to homeownership feasible for families earning near the state or national median. Rents were not available in the data, but the overall affordability profile suggests housing costs are not a barrier for most working families in this community.

The district is currently navigating unresolved facility and staffing challenges. The high school building is not yet ADA accessible, a compliance gap that has persisted through multiple bond attempts. The district called a 2020 bond, but COVID delays and inflation left the work incomplete. Voters rejected a follow-up bond in November 2024. The district then placed a new multi-part proposal on the May 2025 ballot to address high school renovation and teacher housing, which would require a property-tax increase for homeowners. A parent or family considering this school would want to know the outcome of that May vote and how ongoing facility work might affect day-to-day school operations. Teacher housing is a stated need, which may reflect difficulty recruiting and retaining staff in a contracting rural area.

Rotan K-12 sits in a county with only two public school districts. On an overall proficiency measure across tested subjects and grades, the school's proficiency index places it above the midpoint within Fisher County, meaning it outperforms the other district in the county on that metric. The school's four-year graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data were not provided, so this relative position could shift if those metrics were available.

This is a small-town, combined-grade school where affordability is genuine and where a family would be known in the community. The academic proficiency picture is currently weak, particularly in math and science. Facility and staffing challenges are unresolved and subject to local ballot outcomes. A parent would benefit from a direct conversation with school leadership about how test results are being addressed, what interventions are in place for struggling grade levels, what career or technical pathways exist at the high school, and the timeline for facility repairs that could disrupt the school year.

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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 365%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 25 pts above state median

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 16 pts below state median

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 42 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 16 pts below state median

Science

Grade 55%

School 5% · District 5%

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 14 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 24%

even with state median

This schoolROTAN 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 3Lower-income46%Higher-income70%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income45%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income50%19 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income54%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income38%Higher-income42%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income43%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income46%Higher-income90%44 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income22%Higher-income27%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income23%Higher-income20%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income46%26 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income25%Higher-income25%0 pp gap