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What tradition at PALMER MIDDLE should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
423
Middle
DISTRICT 212 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PALMER ISD·NCES 483411006595
Palmer Middle School
118 F M 813, PALMER, TX 75152 · (972) 449-3319 · Ellis County
GRADES 05–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL423 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
54%
228 students
DISTRICT 51% · 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 5 | 106 | 25% |
| Grade 6 | 96 | 23% |
| Grade 7 | 113 | 27% |
| Grade 8 | 108 | 26% |
Student demographics
55%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
Students here typically continue to
Palmer Middle School→Palmer High School
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
66.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +39.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
54.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +16.0pp 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 54 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 39 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 16 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 38.0% | 28.0% | 22.0% | 12.0% |
| Mathematics | 18.0% | 36.0% | 29.0% | 17.0% |
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% | 54.0% |
| 2024-25 | 66.0% | 47.0% |
| 2023-24 | 67.0% | 45.0% |
| 2022-23 | 44.0% | 34.0% |
| 2021-22 | 46.0% | 40.0% |
| 2020-21 | 27.0% | 38.0% |
% 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
49.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.7%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% 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 Palmer Middle School
Palmer Middle School's state test result (49.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palmer Middle School this school | 423 | 53.9% | 49.1% |
| Buffalo Junior High School BUFFALO | 414 | 53.9% | 51.3% |
| Brownwood Middle School BROWNWOOD | 472 | 59.3% | 48.5% |
| Raymond Mays Middle School TROY | 408 | 52.7% | 50.0% |
| Borger Middle School BORGER | 337 | 56.7% | 52.3% |
| Isbill Junior High School MCGREGOR | 333 | 52.3% | 41.4% |
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 Palmer Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Ellis County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.1% | #535 of 1,635 | #4 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #446 of 1,670 ▲ 165 | #3 of 14 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #378 of 1,670 ▼ 10 | #3 of 14 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +21.0pp | #252 of 1,570 | #4 of 13 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 423 | #1,222 of 1,749 | #12 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.1:1 | #883 of 1,542 | #7 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.7% | #726 of 1,543 | #11 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.9% | #1,072 of 1,648 | #6 of 14 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.2% | #264 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
423
+23 (+6%) vs 2020
+138% since 1990-91, when it was 178
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
was 14.3:1
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 | 423 | 28.1 | 15.1:1 | 54% (228) |
| 2023-24 | 424 | 28.3 | 15.0:1 | 54% (228) |
| 2022-23 | 433 | 28.8 | 15.1:1 | 52% (225) |
| 2020-21 | 400 | 28 | 14.3:1 | 54% (214) |
| 2017-18 | 391 | 27.6 | 14.2:1 | 56% (218) |
| 2015-16 | 347 | 28 | 12.4:1 | 54% (187) |
| 2010-11 | 415 | 36 | 11.5:1 | 51% (211) |
| 2000-01 | 340 | 24 | 14.2:1 | 28% (94) |
| 1990-91 | 178 | 10 | 17.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Palmer Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 8% (391 to 423); teachers up 2% (27.6 to 28.1).
About Palmer Middle School
Palmer Middle School is a middle school located in PALMER, Texas, in Ellis County. The school counts 423 students across grades 5 through 8. The school's enrollment is 34% smaller than the 643 average for middle schools in Texas.
Palmer Middle School sits within PALMER ISD, which has 4 schools and 1,352 students.
White students are the largest group at Palmer Middle School, with 49% of enrollment. The remaining shares are 46% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. Ellis County as a whole is about 60% White, so the school's share is lower. The chance that two students picked at random at Palmer Middle School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 55%.
With 28.1 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Palmer Middle School was 15.1:1. The 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas is lower than this school's figure. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 54%.
On BeatsExpectations, Palmer Middle School is 1.6 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Texas schools.
Ellis County has these Census figures: median household income is about $99,595, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 30% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. The public schools of Ellis County number 83 and enroll about 46,344.
Nearby, Palmer Elementary School is about 0.1 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number 2. On average proficiency, Palmer Middle School is 3rd of 5 nearby schools with test data.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Distant.
The number of students climbed from 400 to 423 over 4 years.
Conversations here can range across science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 High SchoolHigh · 403 students
- Ellis Co JJAEPMiddle · 1 students
Other schools in PALMER
- Palmer Elementary SchoolElementary · 525 students
- Palmer High SchoolHigh · 403 students
Other Palmer Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Palmer Middle. Palmer Middle School is the 3rd largest of the 3.
- Palmer Middle SchoolKennesaw, GA · 803 students
- Palmer Middle SchoolPalmer, AK · 563 students
Nearby schools
- Palmer Elementary School0.1 mi · 525
- Palmer High School0.2 mi · 403
- Trinity Charter Schools - Waxahachie Campus5.7 mi · 3
- Austin Elementary School6.7 mi · 394
- Hazel Ingram Elementary School6.9 mi · 335
- Lucy Mae McDonald Elementary School7.0 mi · 641
Frequently asked questions
About Palmer Middle SchoolHow large is Palmer Middle School?
Palmer Middle School enrolls approximately 423 students in grades 05-08.
Is Palmer Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Palmer Middle School is a middle school covering grades 05-08.
How many teachers does Palmer Middle School have?
Palmer Middle School employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Palmer Middle School?
Student demographics at Palmer Middle School are roughly 49% White, 46% Hispanic, 2% Black, 3% Two or more.
Is Palmer Middle School public or private?
Palmer Middle 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.