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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LA JOYA ISD·NCES 482613010825

Jimmy Carter Early College High School

603 N COLLEGE DR, LA JOYA, TX 78560 · (956) 323-2200 · Hidalgo County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL327 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 88% of Texas public high schools
  • ATest 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.
  • DThree-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

Enrollment
327
High
DISTRICT 1,218 · STATE 796
Student : Teacher
11.8:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
86%
281 students
DISTRICT 92% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 98325%
Grade 109228%
Grade 119328%
Grade 125918%
Student demographics
2%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 63% · US 70%
White
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 24% · US 43%
Hispanic
32499%
DISTRICT 100% · STATE 54% · US 30%
Asian
21%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 6% · US 6%
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
Male
11435%
Female
21365%

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Test scores

STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or Above
Reading
87.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +29.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
53.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +36.0pp since 2020

What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 87 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 53 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 29 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 36 points.

Performance levels, 2025-26

SubjectMasters Grade LevelMeets Grade LevelApproaches Grade LevelDid Not Meet Grade Level
Reading18.0%69.0%9.0%4.0%
Mathematics16.0%37.0%37.0%10.0%
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 yearReadingMathematics
2025-2687.0%53.0%
2024-2584.0%41.0%
2023-2487.0%76.0%
2022-2387.0%59.0%
2021-2265.0%37.0%
2020-2158.0%17.0%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
80.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
37.0%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+43.1pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 80% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 37% 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 43 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 Jimmy Carter Early College High School

Jimmy Carter Early College High School's state test result (80.1% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Jimmy Carter Early College High School this school32785.9%80.1%
Santa Rosa High School
SANTA ROSA
29185.2%43.9%
Hebbronville High School
HEBBRONVILLE
29884.2%48.5%
IDEA Toros College Preparatory
EDINBURG
25884.5%38.7%
Cotulla High School
COTULLA
35684.6%43.3%
La Pryor Secondary
LA PRYOR
24486.1%32.1%
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 Jimmy Carter Early College High School ranks

Among high schools
MeasureThis schoolIn TexasIn Hidalgo County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
80.1%#97 of 1,385#6 of 56
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
53.0%#457 of 1,425
▲ 233
#16 of 56
▲ 11
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
87.0%#90 of 1,425
▲ 22
#4 of 56
▲ 1
3-year test score change
ranked biggest drop first
-3.0pp#78 of 1,184#8 of 56
Enrollment
ranked largest first
327#1,122 of 2,107#54 of 84
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
11.8:1#267 of 1,344#3 of 56
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
1.8%#1,311 of 1,346#42 of 56
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
85.9%#283 of 1,522#39 of 65
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-7.9%#305 of 557#18 of 31
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 2024-25
Enrollment
327
-81 (-20%) vs 2020
+200% since 2010-11, when it was 109
Student : Teacher
11.8:1
was 13.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2532727.811.8:186% (281)
2023-2436231.511.5:198% (354)
2022-2336631.111.8:187% (319)
2020-214083013.6:191% (372)
2017-1835522.415.9:197% (346)
2015-163542414.8:198% (347)
2010-11109715.6:150% (55)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Jimmy Carter Early College High School.

Since 2017-18: students down 8% (355 to 327); teachers up 24% (22.4 to 27.8).

About Jimmy Carter Early College High School

Jimmy Carter Early College High School is a low-enrollment high school in Texas, with an address in LA JOYA. It covers grades 9 through 12, with a total enrollment of 327 students. Enrollment is 59% lower than the average for high schools in Texas, which is about 796.

LA JOYA ISD (36 schools, 22,942 students) runs Jimmy Carter Early College High School.

Most students at Jimmy Carter Early College High School are Hispanic: 99% of enrollment. By the diversity index, Jimmy Carter Early College High School comes in at 2%.

The school has about 11.8 students per teacher and 27.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. That ratio is under the 15.1:1 average for high schools in Texas. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 86%. Across public schools in Hidalgo County, the average is about the same, 85%.

Measured against Texas public high schools, Jimmy Carter Early College High School receives an A. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.

On a poverty-adjusted basis, Jimmy Carter Early College High School is in the top 10% of Texas schools: 80.1% actual against 37.0% predicted.

Within Hidalgo County, median household income is about $54,338, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 23% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Hidalgo County number 364 and enroll about 212,859.

The closest public school to Jimmy Carter Early College High School is Hope Academy, about 0.2 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Jimmy Carter Early College High School comes in 2nd of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.

The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.

Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 408 to 327. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (11.8:1) than in 2020-21 (13.6:1).

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Hidalgo County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
891,977
Census ACS
Median income
$54,338
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
23%
Below federal line
Schools in county
364
212,859 students

Quick facts

School name
Jimmy Carter Early College High School
District
LA JOYA ISD
Address
603 N COLLEGE DR, LA JOYA, TX 78560
Phone
(956) 323-2200
County
Hidalgo County
Level
High
Grade range
09–12
Total enrollment
327
Teachers (FTE)
28
Student–teacher ratio
11.8:1
Free and reduced lunch
281 (86%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
482613010825
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in LA JOYA ISD
Other schools in LA JOYA
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Jimmy Carter Early College High School
How many students attend Jimmy Carter Early College High School?
Jimmy Carter Early College High School enrolls approximately 327 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Jimmy Carter Early College High School serve?
Jimmy Carter Early College High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Jimmy Carter Early College High School have?
Jimmy Carter Early College High School employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Jimmy Carter Early College High School?
At Jimmy Carter Early College High School, the student body is approximately 0% White, 99% Hispanic, 1% Asian.
Is Jimmy Carter Early College High School public or private?
Jimmy Carter Early College High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by LA JOYA ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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