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What's the biggest difference between LIFE MIDDLE WAXAHACHIE and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
551
Middle
DISTRICT 717 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LIFE SCHOOL·NCES 480005513347
Life Middle Waxahachie
3295 N US HWY 77, WAXAHACHIE, TX 75165 · (972) 937-0715 · Ellis County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL551 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 56% of Texas public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.9:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
60%
333 students
DISTRICT 68% · 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 7 | 259 | 47% |
| Grade 8 | 292 | 53% |
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
Life Middle Waxahachie→Life H S Waxahachie
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within LIFE SCHOOL. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
66.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +41.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
39.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +29.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 66 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 41 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 29 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 35.0% | 31.0% | 21.0% | 13.0% |
| Mathematics | 12.0% | 27.0% | 23.0% | 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 | 66.0% | 39.0% |
| 2024-25 | 66.0% | 45.0% |
| 2023-24 | 59.0% | 35.0% |
| 2022-23 | 38.0% | 25.0% |
| 2021-22 | 29.0% | 26.0% |
| 2020-21 | 25.0% | 10.0% |
% 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
44.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.9%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Life Middle Waxahachie
Life Middle Waxahachie's state test result (44.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life Middle Waxahachie this school | 551 | 60.4% | 44.0% |
| Liberty Hill Middle School KILLEEN | 674 | 61.0% | 38.4% |
| Springwoods Village Middle School HOUSTON | 590 | 62.7% | 39.2% |
| Live Oak Ridge Middle School KILLEEN | 676 | 68.3% | 32.5% |
| Charles E Patterson Middle School KILLEEN | 746 | 57.1% | 38.4% |
| Iowa Colony Junior High School IOWA COLONY | 699 | 58.4% | 42.4% |
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 Life Middle Waxahachie ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Ellis County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.0% | #749 of 1,635 | #8 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #947 of 1,670 ▼ 277 | #8 of 14 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #356 of 1,670 no change | #2 of 14 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +21.0pp | #243 of 1,570 | #3 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 551 | #1,013 of 1,749 | #10 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #935 of 1,542 | #8 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.1% | #401 of 1,543 | #6 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.4% | #929 of 1,648 | #4 of 14 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +12.9% | #210 of 437 | 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
551
+15 (+3%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 16.2:1
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 | 551 | 36 | 15.3:1 | 60% (333) |
| 2023-24 | 595 | 31.6 | 18.8:1 | 63% (373) |
| 2022-23 | 600 | 39 | 15.4:1 | 58% (349) |
| 2020-21 | 536 | 33 | 16.2:1 | 50% (267) |
| 2017-18 | 488 | 35.9 | 13.6:1 | 50% (246) |
| 2015-16 | 493 | 37 | 13.3:1 | 45% (222) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Life Middle Waxahachie.
Since 2017-18: students up 13% (488 to 551); teachers unchanged (35.9 to 36).
About Life Middle Waxahachie
In WAXAHACHIE, Texas, Life Middle Waxahachie is a mid-sized middle school. Students in grades 7 through 8 make up the school's enrollment of 551 students.
Life Middle Waxahachie falls under LIFE SCHOOL, which has 8 schools enrolling 5,735 students.
At Life Middle Waxahachie, Black students make up the biggest share, 43%. The remaining students are 41% Hispanic, 11% White, and 4% multiracial. Among people living in Ellis County, the Black share is about 15%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 63, compared with 70 nationally.
Its ratio of 15.3:1 is based on 36 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for middle schools in Texas is 14.4:1, so this school has more students per teacher. In all, 60% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Ellis County average 51%.
Among Texas public middle schools, Life Middle Waxahachie outscored 56%, which works out to a B on the allk12 Grade.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Life Middle Waxahachie would be expected to post about 47.9%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 44.0%.
In the wider Ellis County area, median household income comes to about $99,595, roughly 30% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Ellis County counts 83 public schools with about 46,344 students.
Life H S Waxahachie is about 0.4 miles from Life Middle Waxahachie, the shortest distance to any other public school. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 44.5%; Life Middle Waxahachie's is 44.0%, ranking 4th of 8.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more. Federal records list Life Middle Waxahachie as a charter school.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased 3%.
This community page is for conversations about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. You can also rate the school on this page.
Ellis County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
213,160
Census ACS
Median income
$99,595
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
46,344 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in LIFE SCHOOL
- Life School Oak CliffCombined · 1,483 students
- Life H S WaxahachieHigh · 1,114 students
- Life School Red OakElementary · 1,045 students
- Life School LancasterElementary · 455 students
- Life School Cedar HillElementary · 450 students
- Life School Mountain CreekElementary · 354 students
Other schools in WAXAHACHIE
- Waxahachie High SchoolHigh · 3,056 students
- Life H S WaxahachieHigh · 1,114 students
- Howard Junior High SchoolMiddle · 918 students
- Finley Junior High SchoolMiddle · 839 students
- Coleman Junior High SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Wedgeworth Elementary SchoolElementary · 594 students
Nearby schools
- Life H S Waxahachie0.4 mi · 1,114
- Shackelford Elementary School1.0 mi · 452
- Life School Red Oak2.5 mi · 1,045
- Simpson Elementary School2.6 mi · 592
- Red Oak Middle School3.1 mi · 1,488
- Finley Junior High School3.3 mi · 839
Frequently asked questions
About Life Middle WaxahachieWhat is the total enrollment at Life Middle Waxahachie?
Life Middle Waxahachie enrolls approximately 551 students in grades 07-08.
What grades does Life Middle Waxahachie serve?
Life Middle Waxahachie serves grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Life Middle Waxahachie?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Life Middle Waxahachie is approximately 15.3:1 (36 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Life Middle Waxahachie?
At Life Middle Waxahachie, the student body is approximately 11% White, 41% Hispanic, 43% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Life Middle Waxahachie in?
Life Middle Waxahachie is part of LIFE SCHOOL.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.