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How has E MERLE SMITH MIDDLE changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
425
Middle
DISTRICT 392 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SINTON ISD·NCES 484035004572
E Merle Smith Middle School
1000 S SAN PATRICIO AVE, SINTON, TX 78387 · (361) 364-6840 · San Patricio County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL425 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 30% of Texas public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.5:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
64%
272 students
DISTRICT 67% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 162 | 38% |
| Grade 7 | 133 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 130 | 31% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 29% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
E Merle Smith Middle School→Sinton High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within SINTON ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
49.0%
TX avg 54.5% . -18.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
34.0%
TX avg 45.3% . -10.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 34 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are down about 18 points since 2020, while math scores are down about 10 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 22.0% | 27.0% | 28.0% | 23.0% |
| Mathematics | 12.0% | 22.0% | 28.0% | 38.0% |
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 | 49.0% | 34.0% |
| 2024-25 | 44.0% | 32.0% |
| 2023-24 | 58.0% | 42.0% |
| 2022-23 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 2021-22 | 71.0% | 57.0% |
| 2020-21 | 67.0% | 44.0% |
% 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
38.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.4%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% 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 E Merle Smith Middle School
E Merle Smith Middle School's state test result (38.6% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| E Merle Smith Middle School this school | 425 | 64.0% | 38.6% |
| Fort Stockton Middle School FORT STOCKTON | 502 | 67.1% | 32.0% |
| Rosemont Upper DALLAS | 459 | 68.8% | 63.7% |
| Lytle Junior High School LYTLE | 420 | 70.5% | 30.5% |
| Lillion E Luehrs Junior High School BISHOP | 330 | 58.8% | 53.8% |
| Dalhart Junior High School DALHART | 412 | 68.7% | 35.3% |
Matched among Texas middle 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 E Merle Smith Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In San Patricio County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.6% | #1,010 of 1,635 | #3 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #1,215 of 1,670 ▲ 12 | #4 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.0% | #1,104 of 1,670 ▲ 147 | #4 of 7 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 425 | #1,219 of 1,749 | #3 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.5:1 | #250 of 1,542 | #1 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.1% | #1,212 of 1,543 | #5 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 64.0% | #858 of 1,648 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.0% | #403 of 942 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle 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
425
-59 (-12%) vs 2020
+16% since 1990-91, when it was 367
Student : Teacher
12.5:1
was 14.2:1
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 | 425 | 34.1 | 12.5:1 | 64% (272) |
| 2023-24 | 384 | 40.4 | 9.5:1 | 69% (264) |
| 2022-23 | 428 | 40.5 | 10.6:1 | 72% (308) |
| 2020-21 | 484 | 34 | 14.2:1 | 70% (339) |
| 2017-18 | 518 | 37.9 | 13.7:1 | 76% (396) |
| 2015-16 | 467 | 35 | 13.3:1 | 70% (326) |
| 2010-11 | 508 | 39 | 13.0:1 | 79% (399) |
| 2000-01 | 307 | 26 | 11.8:1 | 60% (184) |
| 1990-91 | 367 | 23 | 16.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for E Merle Smith Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (518 to 425); teachers down 10% (37.9 to 34.1).
About E Merle Smith Middle School
E Merle Smith Middle School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as a middle-grades school in SINTON, Texas. Classes run from 6 through 8, and the school has 425 students. The average for middle schools in Texas is about 643 students, so this school is 34% smaller than average.
SINTON ISD runs E Merle Smith Middle School along with 4 other schools, enrolling 1,961 students in total.
The large majority of students at E Merle Smith Middle School, 82%, are Hispanic. Other reported shares: 16% White. San Patricio County's residents are about 57% Hispanic, 26 points below the school's share. E Merle Smith Middle School has a diversity index of 30%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
E Merle Smith Middle School's 34.1 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 12.5:1. That ratio is under the 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 64%. Across public schools in San Patricio County, the average is about the same, 63%.
E Merle Smith Middle School is graded C by allk12, scoring above 30% of Texas public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, E Merle Smith Middle School falls in the middle 80% of Texas schools: 38.6% actual against 46.4% predicted.
According to the American Community Survey, in San Patricio County, median household income is about $69,704, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 18%, and about 12% of people live in poverty. A total of 33 public schools operate in San Patricio County, serving about 13,920 students.
Juvenile Detention Center is the closest public school, about 0.4 miles away in a straight line. There are 4 more public schools inside five miles. Of the 6 nearby schools with scores, including this one, E Merle Smith Middle School is 4th on average proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Town: Distant: in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, E Merle Smith Middle School went from 484 students to 425. Its ratio of students to teachers was 14.2:1 in 2020-21, and 12.5:1 in 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
San Patricio County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
70,181
Census ACS
Median income
$69,704
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
33
13,920 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in SINTON ISD
- Sinton High SchoolHigh · 547 students
- Welder Elementary SchoolElementary · 520 students
- Sinton Elementary SchoolElementary · 458 students
- Juvenile Detention CenterHigh · 11 students
Other schools in SINTON
- Sinton High SchoolHigh · 547 students
- Welder Elementary SchoolElementary · 520 students
- Sinton Elementary SchoolElementary · 458 students
- Juvenile Detention CenterHigh · 11 students
Nearby schools
- Juvenile Detention Center0.4 mi · 11
- Sinton Elementary School1.1 mi · 458
- Welder Elementary School1.5 mi · 520
- Sinton High School1.6 mi · 547
- Odem Junior High School6.9 mi · 204
- Odem Elementary School6.9 mi · 247
Frequently asked questions
About E Merle Smith Middle SchoolHow large is E Merle Smith Middle School?
E Merle Smith Middle School enrolls approximately 425 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does E Merle Smith Middle School serve?
E Merle Smith Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at E Merle Smith Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at E Merle Smith Middle School is approximately 12.5:1 (34 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at E Merle Smith Middle School?
At E Merle Smith Middle School, the student body is approximately 16% White, 82% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 0% Two or more.
What district is E Merle Smith Middle School in?
E Merle Smith Middle School is part of SINTON ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.