Stafford Middle, Stafford TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Stafford Middle

Stafford Middle serves the sixth through eighth grades in Stafford, a suburban city in Fort Bend County between Houston and Sugar Land. The school is part of Stafford Municipal School District, the only municipally controlled school district in Texas.

The school's academic performance shows meaningful challenges. On the most recent state assessments, proficiency rates across subjects cluster in the lower range. In English language arts, about four in ten students in sixth grade reached proficiency, with rates declining to about a third by seventh grade before recovering slightly in eighth. Mathematics performance is weaker still, with only about a quarter of students meeting the standard in grades six and seven, dropping further in grade eight. Science and social studies proficiency at the eighth-grade level sits at similar low points. When looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Fort Bend County. For context on what these numbers mean in practice, a parent may want to look into further detail with the school about what supports are in place for students who are not yet proficient and what pathways exist to catch up.

The enrollment is small by middle-school standards, with roughly equal cohorts across the three grades. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a student population with significant economic need. The student body is diverse: about half the enrollment is Hispanic, a substantial plurality is Black, and Asian students form a smaller but present share. Data on special education enrollment and English learner status were not available.

Stafford itself is a car-dependent community with a character shaped by its no-municipal-property-tax policy, which has drawn manufacturing, distribution, and light industrial employers. Housing costs are below state and national medians, and rental costs remain modest relative to income, making the area economically accessible compared to surrounding suburbs. The city has limited walkability and minimal public transit, so family life centers on personal vehicles and neighborhood parks. The commercial and residential parts of town are functionally separated; civic life is organized around clustered facilities like the civic center rather than a continuous walkable downtown.

The school is located on Constitution Avenue within this suburban, vehicle-dependent setting. It serves families whose work and daily movement are anchored in the local job market and the Fort Bend County area. A parent considering this school should understand it as a public middle school in a higher-poverty, diverse community where recent test results show significant academic challenge, particularly in mathematics and quantitative subjects.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 39% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 53% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 46% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 47% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Science

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 31% · ▼ 7 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

This schoolSTAFFORD MSD, 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 6Lower-income41%Higher-income49%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income43%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income38%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income33%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income30%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income34%13 pp gap