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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS ISD·NCES 481611004206

Thornton Middle School

19802 KIETH HARROW BLVD, KATY, TX 77449 · (281) 856-1500 · Harris County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,424 STUDENTS
Enrollment
1,424
Middle
DISTRICT 1,305 · STATE 643
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
92 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
83%
1,175 students
DISTRICT 62% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 646533%
Grade 747133%
Grade 848834%
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 63% · US 70%
White
685%
DISTRICT 19% · STATE 24% · US 43%
Hispanic
80657%
DISTRICT 46% · STATE 54% · US 30%
Black
44531%
DISTRICT 21% · STATE 13% · US 15%
Asian
504%
DISTRICT 10% · STATE 6% · US 6%
Two+
413%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 3% · US 5%
Native American
131%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
74552%
Female
67948%

Discussions

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Test scores

STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or Above
Reading
48.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +18.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
32.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +10.0pp since 2020

What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 32 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 18 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 10 points.

Performance levels, 2025-26

SubjectMasters Grade LevelMeets Grade LevelApproaches Grade LevelDid Not Meet Grade Level
Reading23.0%25.0%28.0%24.0%
Mathematics13.0%19.0%24.0%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 yearReadingMathematics
2025-2648.0%32.0%
2024-2546.0%30.0%
2023-2446.0%33.0%
2022-2337.0%29.0%
2021-2240.0%26.0%
2020-2130.0%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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
36.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.5%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.2pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 38% 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 Thornton Middle School

Thornton Middle School's state test result (36.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Thornton Middle School this school1,42482.5%36.3%
Rowe Middle School
CYPRESS
1,48178.4%42.5%
Humble Middle School
HUMBLE
1,26482.0%30.9%
Kahla Middle School
HOUSTON
1,12682.9%37.4%
Watkins Middle School
HOUSTON
1,28382.5%38.7%
McMichael Middle School
NACOGDOCHES
1,27581.6%30.5%
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 Thornton Middle School ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn TexasIn Harris County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
36.3%#1,115 of 1,635#141 of 218
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
32.0%#1,280 of 1,670
▲ 5
#177 of 219
▼ 9
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
48.0%#1,124 of 1,670
▲ 13
#145 of 219
▼ 3
3-year test score change
ranked biggest gain first
+7.0pp#985 of 1,570#141 of 216
Enrollment
ranked largest first
1,424#40 of 1,749#9 of 227
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
15.4:1#966 of 1,542#126 of 215
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
57.8%#585 of 1,543#77 of 215
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
82.5%#448 of 1,648#116 of 221
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-13.9%#511 of 942#90 of 145
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 2024-25
Enrollment
1,424
-137 (-9%) vs 2020
-11% since 2000-01, when it was 1,608
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 15.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-251,42492.315.4:183% (1,175)
2023-241,414105.213.4:183% (1,176)
2022-231,397106.313.1:180% (1,118)
2020-211,56110115.5:176% (1,182)
2017-181,653105.115.7:171% (1,168)
2015-161,4879415.8:171% (1,061)
2010-111,2968215.8:170% (906)
2000-011,60810615.2:121% (334)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thornton Middle School.

Since 2017-18: students down 14% (1,653 to 1,424); teachers down 12% (105.1 to 92.3).

About Thornton Middle School

Families in KATY, Texas, are served by Thornton Middle School, a high-enrollment middle school. Total enrollment is 1,424 students, and the grades served are 6 through 8. It has 121% more students than the average for middle schools in Texas (about 643).

CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS ISD is made up of 92 schools with 117,927 students in all.

About 57% of the student body at Thornton Middle School is Hispanic. Other groups include 31% Black, 5% White, 4% Asian, and 3% multiracial. By comparison, Harris County residents are about 44% Hispanic. A diversity index of 58% means there is a 58% chance two randomly chosen students at Thornton Middle School are from different groups.

The student-to-teacher ratio at Thornton Middle School is 15.4:1, based on 92.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas, this school's ratio is higher. Lunch program data show 83% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The rate at public schools in Harris County averages 70%, lower than here.

Thornton Middle School scores 36.3% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 38.5%.

Harris County is the school's county. There, median household income comes to about $74,983, 34% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 13% of people live in poverty. There are 1,205 public schools in the county, enrolling about 886,911, Thornton Middle School among them.

Thornton Middle School's nearest public school is Sheridan Elementary School (about 0.2 miles). The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Thornton Middle School is 8th of 9 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.

Federal data place Thornton Middle School in the Suburb: Large locale, which means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.

Federal enrollment counts fell from 1,561 (2020-21) to 1,424 (2024-25).

The Thornton Middle School discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. You can also rate the school on this page.

Harris County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
4,838,303
Census ACS
Median income
$74,983
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,205
886,911 students

Quick facts

School name
Thornton Middle School
District
CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS ISD
Address
19802 KIETH HARROW BLVD, KATY, TX 77449
Phone
(281) 856-1500
County
Harris County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
1,424
Teachers (FTE)
92
Student–teacher ratio
15.4:1
Free and reduced lunch
1,175 (83%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
481611004206
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS ISD
Other schools in KATY
Other Thornton Middle schools

2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Thornton Middle. Thornton Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 3.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Thornton Middle School
How large is Thornton Middle School?
Thornton Middle School enrolls approximately 1,424 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Thornton Middle School serve?
Thornton Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Thornton Middle School?
Approximately 15.4:1 students per teacher at Thornton Middle School.
What is the student diversity at Thornton Middle School?
Student demographics at Thornton Middle School are roughly 5% White, 57% Hispanic, 31% Black, 4% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Thornton Middle School?
Thornton Middle School is overseen by CYPRESS-FAIRBANKS ISD in Harris County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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