Enrollment
197
Middle
DISTRICT 197 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HARPER ISD·NCES 482259007007
Harper Middle School
23122 W HWY 290, HARPER, TX 78631 · (830) 864-4044 · Gillespie County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE43-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL197 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
16 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.1:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
75 students
DISTRICT 39% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 5 | 62 | 31% |
| Grade 6 | 38 | 19% |
| Grade 7 | 54 | 27% |
| Grade 8 | 43 | 22% |
Student demographics
33%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 39% · 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
Harper Middle School→Harper High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within HARPER ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
68.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +1.0pp since 2023
Mathematics
44.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +4.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 44 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 39.0% | 29.0% | 19.0% | 13.0% |
| Mathematics | 15.0% | 29.0% | 34.0% | 22.0% |
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 | 68.0% | 44.0% |
| 2024-25 | 69.0% | 45.0% |
| 2023-24 | 67.0% | 40.0% |
% 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
48.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
57.4%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 48% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 Harper Middle School
Harper Middle School's state test result (48.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harper Middle School this school | 197 | 38.1% | 48.0% |
| Henrietta Middle School HENRIETTA | 216 | 38.4% | 47.2% |
| Tom Bean Middle School TOM BEAN | 170 | 38.2% | 44.6% |
| Edgewood Middle School EDGEWOOD | 241 | 40.7% | 46.7% |
| Pritchard Junior High School BELLS | 231 | 35.1% | 71.0% |
| Lexington Middle School LEXINGTON | 228 | 38.2% | 54.0% |
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 Harper Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.0% | #578 of 1,635 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 44.0% | #751 of 1,670 ▼ 60 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #325 of 1,670 ▼ 20 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 197 | #1,548 of 1,749 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 38.1% | #1,355 of 1,648 |
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
197
+15 (+8%) vs 2020
+64% since 2000-01, when it was 120
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
was 13.0:1
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 | 197 | 15.5 | 12.7:1 | 38% (75) |
| 2023-24 | 184 | 14.2 | 12.9:1 | 40% (74) |
| 2022-23 | 179 | 13.9 | 12.9:1 | 37% (67) |
| 2020-21 | 182 | 14 | 13.0:1 | 35% (63) |
| 2017-18 | 184 | 14 | 13.2:1 | 30% (55) |
| 2015-16 | 188 | 12 | 15.7:1 | 33% (62) |
| 2010-11 | 154 | 12 | 12.8:1 | 42% (65) |
| 2000-01 | 120 | 8 | 15.0:1 | 51% (61) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Harper Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (184 to 197); teachers up 11% (14 to 15.5).
About Harper Middle School
Harper Middle School runs as a small middle-grades school in HARPER, Texas. The school reports 197 students in grades 5 through 8. The typical figure for middle schools in Texas is about 643 students.
HARPER ISD, which runs Harper Middle School, has 3 schools and 591 students.
White students account for 80% of enrollment at Harper Middle School. The remaining students are 18% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. For comparison, Gillespie County is about 82% White. By the diversity index, Harper Middle School comes in at 33%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.7:1 at Harper Middle School, with 15.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas is higher than this school's figure. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 38%. Public schools in Gillespie County average 58%.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Harper Middle School is 57.4%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 48.0%.
Census estimates describe Gillespie County this way: median household income is about $76,162, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 37% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Federal data list 10 public schools in Gillespie County, with a combined enrollment of about 3,641.
The closest other public school is Harper High School, less than a tenth of a mile away. Around the school, 2 other public schools are within five miles. Of 6 schools in the immediate area with test results, Harper Middle School ranks 6th on average proficiency.
NCES describes the area around Harper Middle School as Rural: Remote, meaning in rural territory far from an urban area.
Harper Middle School saw enrollment rise 8% between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
The Harper Middle School community page is open for posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Gillespie County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
27,524
Census ACS
Median income
$76,162
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
3,641 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in HARPER ISD
- Harper Elementary SchoolElementary · 223 students
- Harper High SchoolHigh · 171 students
Other schools in HARPER
- Harper Elementary SchoolElementary · 223 students
- Harper High SchoolHigh · 171 students
Nearby schools
- Harper High School0.0 mi · 171
- Harper Elementary School0.1 mi · 223
- Doss Elementary School12.0 mi · 20
- Pathways 3H Campus12.7 mi · 18
- Hill Country Youth Ranch14.2 mi · 74
- Ingram Middle School15.6 mi · 270
Frequently asked questions
About Harper Middle SchoolHow many students attend Harper Middle School?
Harper Middle School enrolls approximately 197 students in grades 05-08.
What age range does Harper Middle School serve?
Harper Middle School serves students from grade 05 through grade 08.
How many teachers does Harper Middle School have?
Harper Middle School employs 16 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.7:1.
How diverse is Harper Middle School?
Harper Middle School reports a student body of 80% White, 18% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Harper Middle School?
Harper Middle School is overseen by HARPER ISD in Gillespie County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.