Stafford Stem Magnet Academy, Stafford TX

Original Research by School Decision on Stafford Stem Magnet Academy

Stafford STEM Magnet Academy is a public school serving grades three through ten in Stafford, a suburban city in Fort Bend County positioned between Houston and Sugar Land. The school's enrollment is small, with students spread across eight grade levels, and the student body is substantially more diverse by race and ethnicity than the nation as a whole, with a majority identifying as Asian, and substantial shares identifying as Black or Hispanic. About one-third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's academic profile is its defining strength. Across tested subjects, proficiency rates are notably high. In English language arts, students in grades three through eight show proficiency rates in the low to high nineties, with grade four reaching near-universal achievement. Math proficiency is similarly strong across elementary and middle grades, with grade five standing out at very high proficiency. In science, grade five students show high proficiency, and eighth-grade social studies proficiency is lower than other subjects but still solid. When arrayed against the set of districts in Fort Bend County, this school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile by a substantial margin, well ahead of the county median.

The school's STEM designation reflects its academic positioning. While program details and course specifics were not available in the data reviewed, the strong performance across math and science suggests that the STEM framework is translating into measurable student outcomes, particularly in the elementary and early middle grades where assessments are most comprehensive.

A parent may want to look further into the school's specific STEM curriculum offerings and the nature of its magnet status with the district to understand what instructional approaches distinguish this school and how they align with their student's learning style and academic interests. The school serves grades three through ten, which is an unusual band; a parent should ask the district about the transition points and whether the school prepares students for high school coursework elsewhere. No data on student attendance, discipline, or staffing were available, and the district provided no information about recent strategic changes or initiatives, so prospective families may want to request additional detail on these dimensions directly from the school. Information about English learner and special education services was also not available.

Stafford itself is a car-dependent, business-focused suburb where weekday population swells as commuters arrive for work. Residential neighborhoods are older, mostly single-story homes from the nineteen-seventies and eighties, though some new mixed-use development is underway. Housing costs are moderate for the region, slightly below state benchmarks. The school is located on Stafford Pride in the city limits, where municipal services are consolidated with the school district as part of Stafford's unique municipally controlled school system. A family choosing this school should expect a suburban, vehicle-dependent setting with strong baseline academic outcomes and a diverse peer environment.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 389%

School 89% · District 27% · ▲ 62 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 43% · ▲ 45 pts above district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 596%

School 96% · District 52% · ▲ 44 pts above district

▲ 55 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 683%

School 83% · District 39% · ▲ 44 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 395%

School 95% · District 37% · ▲ 58 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 498%

School 98% · District 49% · ▲ 49 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 596%

School 96% · District 57% · ▲ 39 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 690%

School 90% · District 53% · ▲ 37 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 798%

School 98% · District 46% · ▲ 52 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 898%

School 98% · District 47% · ▲ 51 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Science

Grade 593%

School 93% · District 39% · ▲ 54 pts above district

▲ 70 pts above state median · ▲ 58 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 869%

School 69% · District 31% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above 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 3Lower-income100%Higher-income94%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income96%Higher-income100%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income100%Higher-income96%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income91%Higher-income90%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income95%Higher-income100%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income100%Higher-income96%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income100%Higher-income86%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income79%Higher-income96%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income91%Higher-income98%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income82%Higher-income83%1 pp gap