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Parents: what's one thing you'd want the SHEPHERD MIDDLE administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
448
Middle
DISTRICT 492 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SHEPHERD ISD·NCES 484002004542
Shepherd Middle School
1401 S BYRD AVE, SHEPHERD, TX 77371 · (936) 628-3377 · San Jacinto County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL448 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 3% of Texas public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-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
14.8:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.6:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
73%
325 students
DISTRICT 77% · 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 6 | 158 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 144 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 146 | 33% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · 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
Shepherd Middle School→Shepherd High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within SHEPHERD ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
36.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +27.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
28.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +6.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 28 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 27 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 6 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 16.0% | 20.0% | 30.0% | 34.0% |
| Mathematics | 5.0% | 23.0% | 28.0% | 44.0% |
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 | 36.0% | 28.0% |
| 2024-25 | 35.0% | 21.0% |
| 2023-24 | 29.0% | 23.0% |
| 2022-23 | 31.0% | 29.0% |
| 2021-22 | 31.0% | 35.0% |
| 2020-21 | 9.0% | 22.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
26.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.7%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 26% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 43% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Shepherd Middle School
Shepherd Middle School's state test result (26.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shepherd Middle School this school | 448 | 72.5% | 26.4% |
| Wills Point Junior High School WILLS POINT | 442 | 72.4% | 28.4% |
| Kemp Junior High School KEMP | 439 | 75.4% | 31.2% |
| Leon Taylor Middle School INGLESIDE | 458 | 68.3% | 54.4% |
| Caldwell Intermediate School CALDWELL | 439 | 67.7% | 46.5% |
| Wills Point Middle School WILLS POINT | 404 | 70.0% | 32.9% |
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 Shepherd Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 26.4% | #1,492 of 1,635 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.0% | #1,450 of 1,670 ▲ 103 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.0% | #1,566 of 1,670 ▼ 38 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.0pp | #1,266 of 1,570 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 448 | #1,175 of 1,749 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #825 of 1,542 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.4% | #605 of 1,543 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 72.5% | #669 of 1,648 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +11.2% | #228 of 437 |
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
448
-40 (-8%) vs 2020
+42% since 1990-91, when it was 315
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 14.8:1
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 | 448 | 30.2 | 14.8:1 | 73% (325) |
| 2023-24 | 425 | 28.8 | 14.8:1 | 81% (343) |
| 2022-23 | 458 | 31.9 | 14.4:1 | 84% (384) |
| 2020-21 | 488 | 33 | 14.8:1 | 67% (329) |
| 2017-18 | 403 | 28.5 | 14.1:1 | 49% (197) |
| 2015-16 | 421 | 32 | 13.2:1 | 71% (297) |
| 2010-11 | 426 | 37 | 11.5:1 | 71% (303) |
| 2000-01 | 438 | 34 | 12.9:1 | 54% (236) |
| 1990-91 | 315 | 20 | 15.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Shepherd Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 11% (403 to 448); teachers up 6% (28.5 to 30.2).
About Shepherd Middle School
Shepherd Middle School is a small middle-grades school based in SHEPHERD, Texas. The school serves grades 6 through 8. Enrollment is 448 students. It has 30% fewer students than the average for middle schools in Texas (about 643).
Across its 4 schools, SHEPHERD ISD enrolls 1,968 students. Shepherd Middle School is one of those schools.
At Shepherd Middle School, Hispanic students make up the biggest share, 47%. Other groups include 45% White, 4% Black, and 4% multiracial. By comparison, San Jacinto County residents are about 19% Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 57, compared with 70 nationally.
Its staff includes 30.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 14.8 students per teacher. That is in line with the 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas. Roughly 73% of students at Shepherd Middle School can receive free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in San Jacinto County is similar, at 72%.
On the allk12 Grade, Shepherd Middle School lands at F, ahead of 3% of Texas public middle schools.
Shepherd Middle School is 16.3 points below expectations on state tests, given its student poverty level, placing it in the bottom 10% in Texas.
San Jacinto County is the school's county. There, median household income comes to about $65,364, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 16%, and roughly 16% of residents are in poverty. There are 8 public schools in the county, enrolling about 3,553, Shepherd Middle School among them.
The closest school to Shepherd Middle School is Shepherd Intermediate School, located about 0.4 miles away. There are 3 more public schools inside five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Shepherd Middle School at 7th of 7.
Shepherd Middle School is in rural territory some distance from an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Distant.
The school's enrollment fell 8% from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
The allk12 page for Shepherd Middle School lets the school community talk about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
San Jacinto County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
28,441
Census ACS
Median income
$65,364
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
16%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
8
3,553 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in SHEPHERD ISD
- Shepherd High SchoolHigh · 616 students
- Shepherd Primary SchoolElementary · 504 students
- Shepherd Intermediate SchoolElementary · 400 students
Other schools in SHEPHERD
- Shepherd High SchoolHigh · 616 students
- Shepherd Primary SchoolElementary · 504 students
- Shepherd Intermediate SchoolElementary · 400 students
Other Shepherd Middle schools
3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Shepherd Middle. Shepherd Middle School is the largest of the 4.
- Shepherd Middle SchoolSHEPHERD, MI · 390 students
- Shepherd Middle SchoolOttawa, IL · 353 students
- Shepherd Middle SchoolShepherd, MT · 180 students
Nearby schools
- Shepherd Intermediate School0.4 mi · 400
- Shepherd Primary School0.8 mi · 504
- Shepherd High School0.9 mi · 616
- Goodrich Middle School8.3 mi · 52
- Goodrich Elementary School8.3 mi · 147
- Goodrich High School8.3 mi · 67
Frequently asked questions
About Shepherd Middle SchoolHow large is Shepherd Middle School?
Shepherd Middle School enrolls approximately 448 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Shepherd Middle School serve?
Shepherd Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Shepherd Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Shepherd Middle School is approximately 14.8:1 (30 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Shepherd Middle School?
At Shepherd Middle School, the student body is approximately 45% White, 47% Hispanic, 4% Black, 4% Two or more.
Is Shepherd Middle School public or private?
Shepherd Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by SHEPHERD ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.