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What's one thing CHALLENGE EARLY COLLEGE H S gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
485
High
DISTRICT 995 · STATE 796
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOUSTON ISD·NCES 482364009609
Challenge Early College High School
5601 W LOOP S, HOUSTON, TX 77081 · (713) 664-9712 · Harris County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL485 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 96% of Texas public high schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Texas public high schools
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.0:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
81%
395 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 138 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 120 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 121 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 106 | 22% |
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
96.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +13.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
87.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +53.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 96 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 87 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 13 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 53 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 27.0% | 69.0% | 3.0% | 1.0% |
| Mathematics | 37.0% | 50.0% | 12.0% | 1.0% |
Share of tested students at each STAAR level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
STAAR results by year
| School year | Reading | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 96.0% | 87.0% |
| 2024-25 | 95.0% | 79.0% |
| 2023-24 | 94.0% | 70.0% |
| 2022-23 | 83.0% | 73.0% |
| 2021-22 | 75.0% | 50.0% |
| 2020-21 | 83.0% | 34.0% |
% Meets Grade Level or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
89.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.9%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+50.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 89% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 39% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 50 points, placing it in Texas's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Challenge Early College High School
Challenge Early College High School's state test result (89.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Challenge Early College High School this school | 485 | 81.4% | 89.3% |
| IDEA Parmer Park College Preparatory AUSTIN | 624 | 77.4% | 44.9% |
| Compass Rose Legacy SAN ANTONIO | 530 | 84.5% | 29.3% |
| IDEA Pflugerville College Preparatory PFLUGERVILLE | 669 | 77.1% | 49.4% |
| Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School DALLAS | 604 | 79.8% | 85.3% |
| Uplift Heights Healthcare Institute DALLAS | 497 | 85.3% | 36.3% |
Matched among Texas high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Challenge Early College High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Harris County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 89.3% | #22 of 1,385 | #7 of 150 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 87.0% | #21 of 1,425 ▲ 24 | #7 of 155 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 96.0% | #28 of 1,425 ▲ 3 | #7 of 155 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +13.5pp | #668 of 1,184 | #94 of 151 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 485 | #914 of 2,107 | #133 of 223 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.1:1 | #1,252 of 1,344 | #129 of 157 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 34.7% | #955 of 1,346 | #108 of 157 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 81.4% | #364 of 1,522 | #79 of 175 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.6% | #549 of 672 | #56 of 64 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
485
-1 (0%) vs 2020
+9% since 2010-11, when it was 444
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
was 24.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 485 | 25.5 | 19.1:1 | 81% (395) |
| 2023-24 | 480 | 22.7 | 21.2:1 | 84% (403) |
| 2022-23 | 454 | 20.8 | 21.9:1 | 84% (380) |
| 2020-21 | 486 | 20 | 24.3:1 | 72% (352) |
| 2017-18 | 468 | 19 | 24.6:1 | 70% (329) |
| 2015-16 | 464 | 18 | 25.8:1 | 72% (332) |
| 2010-11 | 444 | 19 | 23.4:1 | 50% (222) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Challenge Early College High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (468 to 485); teachers up 34% (19 to 25.5).
About Challenge Early College High School
Challenge Early College High School is a small high school based in HOUSTON, Texas. It enrolled 485 students in grades 9 through 12 for the 2024-25 school year. Statewide, high schools in Texas average about 796 students each.
HOUSTON ISD has 176,727 students spread across 273 schools.
Challenge Early College High School enrolls a student body that is 80% Hispanic. Beyond that, enrollment is 9% Black, 6% White, and 5% Asian. In Harris County overall, about 44% of residents are Hispanic. The chance that two students picked at random at Challenge Early College High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 35%.
Teachers at the school number 25.5 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 19.1:1. The 15.1:1 average for high schools in Texas is lower than this school's figure. Roughly 81% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in Harris County, the average is 70%.
allk12 grades Challenge Early College High School an A+. The grade compares the school only with Texas public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
After accounting for student poverty, Challenge Early College High School is in the top 10% of Texas schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests of 89.3% is 50.3 points above the 38.9% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
County data help place the school in context: in Harris County, median household income is about $74,983, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 34% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 13%. The public schools of Harris County number 1,205 and enroll about 886,911.
Pin Oak Middle School is the closest public school, about 0.1 miles away in a straight line. Challenge Early College High School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Challenge Early College High School comes in 1st of 7 nearby schools on average proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Large, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment held near 485, starting from 486. The ratio of students to teachers went from 24.3:1 to 19.1:1 over the same years.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Harris County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
4,838,303
Census ACS
Median income
$74,983
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,205
886,911 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in HOUSTON ISD
- Texas Connections Academy at HoustonCombined · 8,641 students
- Bellaire High SchoolHigh · 3,216 students
- Lamar High SchoolHigh · 2,968 students
- Westside High SchoolHigh · 2,729 students
- Heights High SchoolHigh · 2,426 students
- Houston Math Science and Technology CenterHigh · 2,396 students
Other schools in HOUSTON
- Texas Connections Academy at HoustonCombined · 8,641 students
- North Shore Senior HighHigh · 4,284 students
- Elsik High SchoolHigh · 4,057 students
- Summer Creek High SchoolHigh · 3,972 students
- Hastings High SchoolHigh · 3,786 students
- C E King High SchoolHigh · 3,716 students
Nearby schools
- Pin Oak Middle School0.1 mi · 1,253
- Kolter Elementary School0.6 mi · 771
- Cunningham Elementary School0.7 mi · 562
- Liberty High School1.1 mi · 352
- Middle College H S at Hcc Gulfton1.1 mi · 72
- Rodriguez Elementary School1.2 mi · 917
Frequently asked questions
About Challenge Early College High SchoolHow large is Challenge Early College High School?
Challenge Early College High School enrolls approximately 485 students in grades 09-12.
Is Challenge Early College High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Challenge Early College High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Challenge Early College High School have?
Challenge Early College High School employs 25 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Challenge Early College High School?
Student demographics at Challenge Early College High School are roughly 6% White, 80% Hispanic, 9% Black, 5% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Challenge Early College High School in?
Challenge Early College High School is part of HOUSTON ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.