The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 23% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Spearman J H
Spearman Junior High sits in the heart of a small, agriculture-driven Texas Panhandle town. The campus is embedded in Spearman's town grid, a short walk from the historic downtown and the Hansford County Courthouse, in a community where daily life revolves around farming, feedlot operations, energy production, and the institutions that serve them. Most residents own their homes, drive to work, and live in a place with a stable if slowly contracting population over recent decades. Housing values here run well below the Texas state median and far below the national figure, which translates to relatively affordable homeownership and a modest estimated monthly mortgage payment.
The school serves grades six through eight in Spearman ISD, a district that has seen enrollment fall meaningfully since 2021. That decline has reduced state funding and was a publicly stated driver behind a three-proposition bond election held in May 2025. Two of those propositions addressed facility needs directly relevant to the junior high, including roof replacement, while a third would refinance existing maintenance and operations debt to produce long-term savings. Families weighing a move to the area should look into the outcomes of that vote and what it means for facilities and the tax rate on local homes.
On the 2024-25 STAAR, the academic picture is uneven across subjects and grades. Reading and writing results are the relative strength: eighth graders posted the strongest ELA proficiency rates in the building, and sixth graders were not far behind. Math tells a different story. Sixth and seventh grade math proficiency rates are low, with the seventh grade result being the weakest single-subject figure in the data. Eighth grade math showed a more encouraging result, though still not a majority of students reaching the standard. Science and social studies were both tested only at eighth grade; science came in roughly at the midpoint of the building's subject range, while social studies matched the seventh grade math result as one of the lower figures. Across all subjects combined, the share of students reaching the "approaches" threshold is reasonably solid, but the shares reaching "meets" or "masters" are well below that, indicating many students are passing the minimum bar without moving into deeper command of the material.
Placed against the other districts in Hansford County, the school's overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Hansford County. Parents who want to understand what is driving the math and social studies gaps, and what the school is doing in response, would be well served by asking those questions directly.
Roughly three in five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a substantial economically disadvantaged population. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller share of white students and no reported enrollment in other racial or ethnic categories. Data on English learner counts and special education rates were not available in the provided information.
Program information was not included in the data, so extracurriculars, elective offerings, and any enrichment options cannot be described here. The trend data covers only a single year, so there is no multi-year trajectory to characterize.
Spearman itself carries a genuine small-town character: brick-paved streets downtown, a windmill park, a county library, a local hospital, and a workforce built around land and livestock. For a family comfortable with rural Panhandle life and attentive to what the school is doing to close gaps in math and social studies, this is the context they are entering.
See more original research from School Decision →