Enrollment
100
Combined
STATE 485
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COTTON CENTER ISD·NCES 481536001112
Cotton Center School
2345 FM 179, COTTON CENTER, TX 79021 · (806) 879-2176 · Hale County
GRADES PK–12COMBINED42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL100 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 44% of Texas public K-12 schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
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 K-12 schools
Student : Teacher
5.9:1
17 FTE teachers
STATE 11.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
62%
62 students
STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other combined schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 6 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 8 | 8% |
| Grade 1 | 5 | 5% |
| Grade 2 | 5 | 5% |
| Grade 3 | 9 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 9 | 9% |
| Grade 5 | 8 | 8% |
| Grade 6 | 13 | 13% |
| Grade 7 | 11 | 11% |
| Grade 8 | 2 | 2% |
| Grade 9 | 7 | 7% |
| Grade 10 | 4 | 4% |
| Grade 11 | 5 | 5% |
| Grade 12 | 8 | 8% |
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
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
54.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +3.0pp since 2023
Mathematics
47.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +5.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 27.0% | 27.0% | 27.0% | 19.0% |
| Mathematics | 2.0% | 45.0% | 10.0% | 43.0% |
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 | 54.0% | 47.0% |
| 2024-25 | 51.0% | 44.0% |
| 2023-24 | 51.0% | 42.0% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
42.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.2%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Texas's top nor bottom 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 Cotton Center School
Cotton Center School's state test result (42.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cotton Center School this school | 100 | 62.0% | 42.4% |
| Benjamin School BENJAMIN | 94 | 60.6% | 47.0% |
| Matagorda ISD MATAGORDA | 109 | 56.9% | 40.7% |
| Darrouzett Schools DARROUZETT | 86 | 68.6% | 24.0% |
| Pringle-Morse Schools MORSE | 128 | 58.6% | 48.1% |
| Texhoma Elementary School TEXHOMA | 142 | 62.7% | 76.7% |
Matched among Texas K-12 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 Cotton Center School ranks
Among K-12 schools| Measure | This school | In Texas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.4% | #111 of 211 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #79 of 218 ▲ 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #111 of 218 ▲ 16 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 100 | #232 of 280 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 62.0% | #105 of 226 |
Ranked against other public K-12 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
100
+4 (+4%) vs 2020
-46% since 1990-91, when it was 186
Student : Teacher
5.9:1
was 6.9:1
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 | 100 | 17 | 5.9:1 | 62% (62) |
| 2023-24 | 105 | 15.2 | 6.9:1 | 57% (60) |
| 2022-23 | 100 | 14.5 | 6.9:1 | 61% (61) |
| 2020-21 | 96 | 14 | 6.9:1 | 71% (68) |
| 2017-18 | 117 | 15 | 7.8:1 | 86% (101) |
| 2015-16 | 106 | 12 | 8.8:1 | 87% (92) |
| 2010-11 | 120 | 15 | 8.0:1 | 73% (88) |
| 2000-01 | 177 | 18 | 9.8:1 | 68% (120) |
| 1990-91 | 186 | 18 | 10.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cotton Center School.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (117 to 100); teachers up 13% (15 to 17).
About Cotton Center School
In COTTON CENTER, Texas, Cotton Center School is a small combined-grade school. Enrollment is 100 students in 2024-25, and the school serves pre-K through 12. The average for combined schools in Texas is about 485 students, so this school is 79% smaller than average.
Cotton Center School is a school in COTTON CENTER ISD.
Hispanic students make up a majority at Cotton Center School, at 52%. The remaining shares are 42% White, 3% Asian, and 2% multiracial. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Hale County's population at about 61%. Pick two students at random and there is a 55% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
A ratio of 5.9:1 comes from the school's 17 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is 5.8 students per teacher below the 11.7:1 average for combined schools in Texas. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 62% in 2024-25. Among public schools in Hale County, the average eligibility rate is 73%.
Measured against Texas public K-12 schools, Cotton Center School receives a C+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Cotton Center School posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 42.4%, compared with a predicted 47.2%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Texas schools on BeatsExpectations.
Census Bureau estimates for Hale County show that the median household income is $51,897, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 15%, and roughly 16% of residents are in poverty. Cotton Center School is one of 24 public schools in the county.
The closest other public school is Hale Center High School, about 9.3 miles away. Cotton Center School has 3 other public schools within ten miles. Cotton Center School's average proficiency of 42.4% compares with 43.0% for its nearest scored neighbors.
NCES describes the area around Cotton Center School as Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment climbed 4% from its 2020-21 level of 96.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Hale County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
32,131
Census ACS
Median income
$51,897
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
15%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
24
6,064 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- Hale Center High School9.3 mi · 174
- Akin Elementary School9.8 mi · 226
- Carr Middle School10.0 mi · 161
- Abernathy Elementary School13.6 mi · 400
- Abernathy High School13.6 mi · 237
- Abernathy Middle School13.6 mi · 171
Frequently asked questions
About Cotton Center SchoolHow large is Cotton Center School?
Cotton Center School enrolls approximately 100 students in grades PK-12.
What age range does Cotton Center School serve?
Cotton Center School serves students from grade PK through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Cotton Center School?
Approximately 5.9:1 students per teacher at Cotton Center School.
How diverse is Cotton Center School?
Cotton Center School reports a student body of 42% White, 52% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Cotton Center School public or private?
Cotton Center School is a public K-12 school, overseen by COTTON CENTER ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.