Enrollment
403
High
DISTRICT 338 · STATE 796
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PALMER ISD·NCES 483411003794
Palmer High School
422 W JEFFERSON, PALMER, TX 75152 · (972) 449-3487 · Ellis County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL403 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.9:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
188 students
DISTRICT 51% · 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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 107 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 107 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 92 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 97 | 24% |
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 55% · 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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within PALMER ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
71.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +36.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
52.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +2.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 52 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 36 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 2 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 14.0% | 57.0% | 16.0% | 13.0% |
| Mathematics | 12.0% | 40.0% | 39.0% | 9.0% |
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 | 71.0% | 52.0% |
| 2024-25 | 71.0% | 55.0% |
| 2023-24 | 72.0% | 51.0% |
| 2022-23 | 49.0% | 52.0% |
| 2021-22 | 26.0% | 38.0% |
| 2020-21 | 35.0% | 50.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
68.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
53.8%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+14.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 69% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 54% 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 15 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 Palmer High School
Palmer High School's state test result (68.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer High School this school | 403 | 46.7% | 68.6% |
| Comanche High School COMANCHE | 375 | 46.7% | 66.3% |
| Florence High School FLORENCE | 357 | 47.1% | 44.3% |
| Childress High School CHILDRESS | 317 | 46.7% | 62.7% |
| Smithville High School SMITHVILLE | 543 | 44.4% | 48.4% |
| Mineola High School MINEOLA | 492 | 51.0% | 66.0% |
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 Palmer High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Ellis County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.6% | #269 of 1,385 | #2 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.0% | #492 of 1,425 ▼ 176 | #4 of 11 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #344 of 1,425 ▼ 36 | #3 of 11 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +11.0pp | #770 of 1,184 | #8 of 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 403 | #1,016 of 2,107 | #8 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.7:1 | #674 of 1,344 | #5 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.6% | #490 of 1,346 | #9 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 46.7% | #1,074 of 1,522 | #5 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +28.3% | #144 of 672 | #3 of 9 |
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 2024-25Enrollment
403
+54 (+15%) vs 2020
+66% since 1990-91, when it was 243
Student : Teacher
14.7:1
was 12.0:1
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 | 403 | 27.5 | 14.7:1 | 47% (188) |
| 2023-24 | 388 | 26.8 | 14.5:1 | 49% (191) |
| 2022-23 | 370 | 28.9 | 12.8:1 | 45% (165) |
| 2020-21 | 349 | 29 | 12.0:1 | 48% (169) |
| 2017-18 | 314 | 27.8 | 11.3:1 | 44% (138) |
| 2015-16 | 328 | 29 | 11.3:1 | 45% (146) |
| 2010-11 | 325 | 29 | 11.2:1 | 42% (135) |
| 2000-01 | 270 | 20 | 13.5:1 | 22% (59) |
| 1990-91 | 243 | 12 | 20.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Palmer High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 28% (314 to 403); teachers down 1% (27.8 to 27.5).
About Palmer High School
Palmer High School is a small high school in PALMER ISD, located in PALMER, Texas. The school covers grades 9 through 12 and reported 403 students in 2024-25. The school is 49% below the average for high schools in Texas.
PALMER ISD has 1,352 students in 4 schools, and Palmer High School is one of those schools.
The student body at Palmer High School has no majority group. White students lead at 47%. Next come 47% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. The county population is about 60% White. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 56%.
Teacher count: 27.5 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 14.7:1. That is in line with the 15.1:1 average for high schools in Texas. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, often used to gauge student poverty, is 47%.
Palmer High School scores 14.8 points above its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results: 68.6% actual versus 53.8% predicted. That puts it in the top 10% of Texas schools on BeatsExpectations.
In Ellis County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $99,595, about 30% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 5%. The county has 83 public schools and about 46,344 students.
Palmer High School is about 0.2 miles from Palmer Middle School, its nearest public school. Around the school, 2 other public schools are within five miles. Of 4 schools in the immediate area with test results, Palmer High School ranks 1st on average proficiency.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Distant.
The school's enrollment rose 15% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (14.7:1) than in 2020-21 (12.0:1).
The discussion board for Palmer High School is open to topics like pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
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 PALMER ISD
- Palmer Elementary SchoolElementary · 525 students
- Palmer Middle SchoolMiddle · 423 students
- Ellis Co JJAEPMiddle · 1 students
Other schools in PALMER
- Palmer Elementary SchoolElementary · 525 students
- Palmer Middle SchoolMiddle · 423 students
Other Palmer High schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Palmer High. Palmer High School is the 4th largest of the 4.
- Palmer High SchoolCOLORADO SPRINGS, CO · 1,265 students
- Palmer High SchoolPalmer, AK · 616 students
- Palmer HighPalmer, MA · 416 students
Nearby schools
- Palmer Middle School0.2 mi · 423
- Palmer Elementary School0.3 mi · 525
- Trinity Charter Schools - Waxahachie Campus5.5 mi · 3
- Austin Elementary School6.6 mi · 394
- Ellis Co JJAEP6.9 mi · 3
- Ellis Co JJAEP6.9 mi · 1
Frequently asked questions
About Palmer High SchoolHow many students attend Palmer High School?
Palmer High School enrolls approximately 403 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Palmer High School serve?
Palmer High School serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Palmer High School?
Approximately 14.7:1 students per teacher at Palmer High School.
How diverse is Palmer High School?
Palmer High School reports a student body of 47% White, 47% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Palmer High School public or private?
Palmer High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by PALMER ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.