Sulphur Bluff Isd, Sulphur Bluff TX

Original Research by School Decision on Sulphur Bluff Isd

Sulphur Bluff ISD is a single campus serving pre-K through 12 in a small, remote rural community of the same name in northeastern Hopkins County, Texas. The school itself sits at the center of a dispersed agricultural settlement—no commercial downtown exists—and operates within a four-day week schedule that families should know about, with Monday through Thursday school days running from mid-morning to late afternoon and Fridays off, a change adopted in 2022 that brings childcare implications for parents of younger students.

The enrollment is small, around a few hundred students across all grades. A substantial share of those students—about three-fifths—qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly White, with a smaller Hispanic share and very few students of other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on students with IEPs or English learners were not available.

In state testing, the school shows uneven proficiency across subjects and grade levels. In English Language Arts, results range from stronger performance in the elementary grades (with about two-thirds of third graders reaching proficiency) down through a dip in fifth grade, then recovery toward stronger results in seventh and eighth grades. Math is the softer area: most elementary students fall below proficiency, with only about one in ten reaching the "meets" level across the grades tested. Fourth grade stands out as particularly low in math, with only a small fraction meeting the standard, though some recovery appears in the fifth-grade cohort. Science testing—available for fifth and eighth grades only—shows a striking weakness in fifth-grade science (with only one student reaching proficiency) and modest improvement by eighth grade. A single eighth-grade social studies assessment showed low proficiency as well. Overall, across all tested subjects and grades, a bit less than half of all students reached proficiency or above, placing the school above the midpoint among Hopkins County's school districts.

The district has made material recent changes worth noting. In May 2024 voters approved a substantial bond measure for school buildings and buses, with the first phase of campus renovations completed by the end of 2025. A new track was nearing readiness and a new career and technical education building was scheduled to break ground in 2026. This represents meaningful infrastructure investment and carries a property-tax obligation that families considering the area should factor into housing costs.

Sulphur Bluff itself offers limited consumer or service amenities; it is a stable, sparsely settled agricultural community with a century-long pattern of decline in commercial activity but stability in population. The wider Hopkins County economy rests on dairy farms, cattle ranching, and food processing concentrated in nearby Sulphur Springs, the county seat about a short drive away. The real-estate market in Sulphur Bluff is thin, with small numbers of modest homes alongside larger farm and ranch parcels, reflecting an agricultural land market rather than residential subdivision growth.

Parents weighing this district should approach it with clear eyes about what it offers: a very small, family-oriented school in a remote rural setting, with state test results showing strength in reading but notable gaps in math and science. The four-day week schedule is a structural fact that shapes family life. The campus bond projects signal investment in facilities and career pathways going forward. For families drawn to tight-knit rural schools and able to manage uneven academic performance and limited program breadth, this may fit. For those seeking robust test proficiency across all subjects or extensive course offerings, a parent may want to look into further whether this school's trajectory and current academic supports align with their child's needs.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 16 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 371%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 422%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 9 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 21 pts above state median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Science

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 2 pts below state median

This schoolSULPHUR BLUFF 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-income88%Higher-income33%55 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income60%46 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income60%Higher-income80%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income75%Higher-income67%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income100%86 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income40%0 pp gap