1
What's the one class at W H GASTON MIDDLE every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
757
Middle
DISTRICT 551 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DALLAS ISD·NCES 481623001261
W H Gaston Middle School
9565 MERCER DR, DALLAS, TX 75228 · (972) 502-5400 · Dallas County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL757 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 61% of Texas public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B+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
15.4:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
95%
717 students
DISTRICT 89% · 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 | 258 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 258 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 241 | 32% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · 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
W H Gaston Middle School→Bryan Adams H S Leadership Academy
Feeds from
Based on published attendance-zone data from DALLAS ISD. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
54.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +30.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
47.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +27.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 30 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 27 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 26.0% | 28.0% | 24.0% | 22.0% |
| Mathematics | 16.0% | 31.0% | 26.0% | 27.0% |
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 | 54.0% | 47.0% |
| 2024-25 | 44.0% | 36.0% |
| 2023-24 | 44.0% | 32.0% |
| 2022-23 | 40.0% | 30.0% |
| 2021-22 | 34.0% | 27.0% |
| 2020-21 | 24.0% | 20.0% |
% 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
39.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.2%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 W H Gaston Middle School
W H Gaston Middle School's state test result (39.4% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| W H Gaston Middle School this school | 757 | 94.7% | 39.4% |
| Young Women's Steam Academy at Balch Springs Middl BALCH SPRINGS | 751 | 95.9% | 42.2% |
| William James Middle School FORT WORTH | 710 | 94.9% | 11.3% |
| Carter Junior High School ARLINGTON | 735 | 92.8% | 19.0% |
| Ortiz Middle School HOUSTON | 772 | 95.1% | 37.0% |
| IDEA Hardy College Preparatory HOUSTON | 635 | 93.2% | 33.6% |
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 W H Gaston Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Dallas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.4% | #967 of 1,635 | #42 of 118 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #641 of 1,670 ▲ 396 | #36 of 123 ▲ 27 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #841 of 1,670 ▲ 393 | #35 of 123 ▲ 27 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +15.5pp | #467 of 1,570 | #21 of 121 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 757 | #648 of 1,749 | #43 of 126 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #976 of 1,542 | #79 of 123 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.0% | #1,216 of 1,543 | #99 of 123 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 94.7% | #120 of 1,648 | #25 of 121 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -22.7% | #267 of 942 | #41 of 80 |
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
757
-32 (-4%) vs 2020
-6% since 1990-91, when it was 802
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 13.4:1
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 | 757 | 49 | 15.4:1 | 95% (717) |
| 2023-24 | 717 | 51 | 14.1:1 | 94% (673) |
| 2022-23 | 688 | 50 | 13.8:1 | 92% (633) |
| 2020-21 | 789 | 59 | 13.4:1 | 91% (719) |
| 2017-18 | 979 | 70.4 | 13.9:1 | 97% (954) |
| 2015-16 | 1,003 | 66 | 15.2:1 | 93% (936) |
| 2010-11 | 1,113 | 78 | 14.3:1 | 90% (1,002) |
| 2000-01 | 976 | 70 | 13.9:1 | 69% (671) |
| 1990-91 | 802 | 50 | 16.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for W H Gaston Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 23% (979 to 757); teachers down 30% (70.4 to 49).
About W H Gaston Middle School
W H Gaston Middle School is a middle school in DALLAS, Texas, and it is part of DALLAS ISD. It is open to students in grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 757 students.
The district for W H Gaston Middle School is DALLAS ISD, with 240 schools and 140,630 students.
W H Gaston Middle School is 83% Hispanic by enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 12% Black and 3% White. In Dallas County overall, about 41% of residents are Hispanic. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 30%.
On staff are 49 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 15.4:1. The average for middle schools in Texas is 14.4:1, so this school has more students per teacher. About 95% of students at W H Gaston Middle School are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Dallas County is 77%.
W H Gaston Middle School holds a B allk12 Grade, placing it above 61% of Texas public middle schools.
W H Gaston Middle School sits between the top and bottom 10% of Texas schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate across its state test results of 39.4% and a predicted 33.2%.
In Dallas County, home to about 2,621,179 people, median household income comes to about $76,547, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and about 11% of people live in poverty. Dallas County's 771 public schools enroll about 459,645 students and include W H Gaston Middle School.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Reinhardt Elementary School, is about 0.8 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Of the 8 nearby schools with scores, including this one, W H Gaston Middle School is 6th on average proficiency.
W H Gaston Middle School has an NCES locale of City: Large.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 4% decline, from 789 to 757. The ratio of students to teachers went from 13.4:1 to 15.4:1 over the same years.
Anyone can start a thread about open houses, carpools, and field trips at W H Gaston Middle School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Dallas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,621,179
Census ACS
Median income
$76,547
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
771
459,645 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in DALLAS ISD
- Skyline High SchoolHigh · 3,837 students
- Bryan Adams H S Leadership AcademyHigh · 2,208 students
- W T White High SchoolHigh · 2,204 students
- Sunset High SchoolHigh · 2,164 students
- Moises E Molina High SchoolHigh · 2,006 students
- Woodrow Wilson High SchoolHigh · 1,832 students
Other schools in DALLAS
- Skyline High SchoolHigh · 3,837 students
- Lake Highlands High SchoolHigh · 2,972 students
- Oak Cliff Faith Family AcademyCombined · 2,670 students
- Bryan Adams H S Leadership AcademyHigh · 2,208 students
- W T White High SchoolHigh · 2,204 students
- Sunset High SchoolHigh · 2,164 students
Nearby schools
- Reinhardt Elementary School0.8 mi · 431
- Bryan Adams H S Leadership Academy0.8 mi · 2,208
- George W Truett Elementary School0.9 mi · 987
- Prek Partnership Center1.2 mi · 1,295
- S S Conner Elementary School1.2 mi · 557
- Alex Sanger Preparatory School1.3 mi · 769
Frequently asked questions
About W H Gaston Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at W H Gaston Middle School?
W H Gaston Middle School enrolls approximately 757 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does W H Gaston Middle School serve?
W H Gaston Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at W H Gaston Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at W H Gaston Middle School is approximately 15.4:1 (49 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at W H Gaston Middle School?
At W H Gaston Middle School, the student body is approximately 3% White, 83% Hispanic, 12% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is W H Gaston Middle School in?
W H Gaston Middle School is part of DALLAS ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.