Sterling City School, Sterling City TX

Original Research by School Decision on Sterling City School

Sterling City School serves a small, integrated PreK-12 enrollment across a quiet West Texas county seat where ranching, oil and gas, and wind power anchor the regional economy. The school sits on 7th Street, a short walk from the courthouse square and civic core, making it a genuinely accessible neighborhood school rather than a distant campus.

The student body is just under four hundred. Just under half qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is roughly evenly split between white and Hispanic students, with very small counts of other racial groups. Special population data was not available.

In reading and math, Sterling City School shows a typical county-scale mixed profile. Third and fourth grade reading proficiency sits in the low-to-mid range, with sixth grade reading notably stronger. Math in third grade is weaker, but fourth through seventh grades show more steady ground, with seventh grade math particularly solid. Eighth grade reading and math both dip. In seventh and eighth grade reading, proficiency sits below the midpoint.

Science proficiency is notably lower: grade five and eight science scores fall well below what the school shows in literacy and math. Social studies in eighth grade is similarly weak.

When the school measures students against the four achievement levels Texas uses, across all tested subjects combined, most students do reach the "approaches grade level" mark. About a fifth reach "masters," and about a third reach "meets." The composition varies: English language arts students approach and meets at stronger rates; math students master at lower rates; science students master at higher rates, though overall proficiency in science remains constrained by the low proportion meeting the basic proficiency bar.

The housing market in Sterling City tracks substantially below state and national benchmarks, with median home values well below statewide figures. Mortgage affordability, relative to local income, sits above the national ratio, meaning housing carries a lighter burden than in many Texas markets.

No graduation rate, attendance data, or discipline figures were provided, so a parent should ask the school directly about those outcomes and about high school course offerings. The data available covers only tested grades and subjects, leaving no visibility into elementary course breadth or high school career or dual-credit pathways. Whether the school offers AP, career pathways, or other secondary-level specialization is not documented here.

Sterling City School is a small, town-integrated district school serving a stable community with a diverse peer group and quiet, rooted local anchors. Its academic profile shows genuine strength in upper-elementary and early-middle-school literacy and solid performance in some math grades, but a parent may want to look into the school's support structures for science proficiency and for the apparent dip in engagement or performance in seventh and eighth grade. Direct conversation with the school about secondary coursework and graduation outcomes would help round out this picture.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 23 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 340%

School 40% · District 40%

even with state median

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 23 pts above state median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 45% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 30 pts above state median

Grade 773%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 46 pts above state median

Grade 859%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 17 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 21 pts above state median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 19 pts above state median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 48% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 20 pts above state median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 24% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 7 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 29%

▲ 5 pts above state median

This schoolSTERLING CITY 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-income29%Higher-income78%49 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income100%50 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income54%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income58%Higher-income85%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income83%61 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income38%29 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income14%Higher-income48%34 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income100%56 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income46%1 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income77%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income56%Higher-income100%44 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income50%17 pp gap