San Saba Middle, San Saba TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on San Saba Middle

San Saba Middle serves grades five through eight in a small rural town that sits on the northern edge of the Texas Hill Country, roughly two hours from Austin. The school draws from San Saba, a county seat built around ranching, pecan production, and a compact historic downtown, and serves the broader San Saba ISD with modest total enrollment. Families here contend with a school district that has not passed a major capital bond in over a decade. Voters rejected facility improvement propositions in May 2025 that would have funded safety upgrades, new teaching spaces for career and technical education, a performing arts center, and campus renovations. The district now operates with aging buildings and limited new capacity, a structural reality for parents weighing long-term investments in this community.

The academic picture is mixed, with notable strength in reading and writing but significant softness in mathematics and science. In ELA across all grades, a majority of students meet or exceed proficiency standards. Fifth and eighth graders show particular strength, and overall, the school reports that a substantial proportion of students approach or meet ELA benchmarks. Mathematics tells a different story. Performance drops grade by grade, with eighth grade proficiency particularly low. Across all grades combined, only a modest share of students meet math proficiency. Science proficiency is also weak. Students in fifth grade show minimal proficiency on state science tests, and while eighth graders perform somewhat better, less than a quarter reach the proficiency threshold. Social studies proficiency, assessed only in eighth grade, sits around the threshold of a third of students meeting standard.

The school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the three school districts in San Saba County, a factual positioning that reflects the challenges in mathematics and science. A parent may want to look into further whether the school has identified root causes in math instruction or curriculum and what intervention strategies are underway, especially given the downward progression across grades.

The student body is small, with roughly equal cohorts across each grade. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic need in the area. The enrollment is racially mixed, with roughly equal portions of Hispanic and white students and a very small number identifying as two or more races. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status were not available in the records provided.

San Saba Middle sits on a shared campus with the district's other schools on West Wallace, close enough to the historic downtown to be part of the town fabric rather than isolated on a removed facility. The community itself is marked by parks along the San Saba River, a walkable historic downtown with shops and restaurants, and a foundation in agriculture and small-scale commerce. Growth in the area has been slow and modest, with recent activity centered on commercial revitalization rather than rapid residential expansion.

For families, this is a small-town middle school in a place with tight community identity but also structural constraints. Reading and writing instruction appears to be working; mathematics requires attention. The absence of recent facility investment means families will be navigating a school with older buildings and limited new learning spaces. A parent considering this school should ask directly about math support and intervention, any recent curriculum changes, and the district's timeline for addressing the deferred capital needs identified in the failed bond proposals.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 23 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 20 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 31%

▲ 7 pts above state median

This schoolSAN SABA 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-income68%Higher-income50%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income58%Higher-income60%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income81%45 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income58%Higher-income75%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income60%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income23%Higher-income71%48 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income29%11 pp gap