Latexo High School Falls to C After Sharp Decline in Academic Growth
By Greg Ritchie
Messenger Reporter
LATEXO — Latexo High School’s state accountability rating has fallen from an A to a C over the past five years, with a steep decline in academic growth driving the school’s latest drop.
The Texas Education Agency’s 2026 report card gave Latexo High School an overall score of 79, or a C. That was down from an 85, or B, in 2025; an 88, or B, in 2024; and a 90, or A, in 2022.
The latest rating is also the lowest among Houston County’s rated high-school campuses. Grapeland High School received an A with a score of 90, Lovelady Junior High/High School received an A with a score of 93, and Crockett High School received a B with a score of 80.
The most significant change in Latexo High School’s report card came in Academic Growth. The school’s score in that area fell from 72, or C, in 2025 to 56, or F, in 2026.
Closing the Gaps also declined sharply, falling from 90, or A, last year to 68, or D, this year.
Other areas remained comparatively strong. Latexo High School’s Student Achievement score increased from 83 to 84, remaining in the B range. Its School Progress score rose from 79, or C, to 80, or B. Relative Performance also improved from 79 to 80.
The results show that the school’s overall decline was not caused by a drop in every category. Instead, the decline was concentrated in academic growth and Closing the Gaps, while achievement and overall school progress remained in the B range.
The district’s overall rating remained unchanged at 76, or C. Latexo Elementary received a score of 72, or C, increasing from last year’s grade of 66, or D.
The districtwide grade does not fully reflect the movement at individual campuses. District ratings are calculated using student performance across campuses, with the number of students in grades three through 12 used to determine the proportional weight of each campus.
The state’s accountability system uses three primary areas: Student Achievement, School Progress and Closing the Gaps. Student Achievement includes measures such as STAAR performance, college, career and military readiness, and graduation rates. School Progress considers academic growth and performance compared with similar schools. Closing the Gaps examines performance and progress among student groups.
The overall score is not a simple average of all the reported categories. The state gives 70% of the calculation to whichever is higher — Student Achievement or School Progress — and 30% to Closing the Gaps.
For Latexo High School, Student Achievement was higher than School Progress, with scores of 84 and 80, respectively. Closing the Gaps was 68. Using that formula produces an overall score of approximately 79, placing the campus in the C range.
Under the state’s grading system, scores from 90 to 100 receive an A, scores from 80 to 89 receive a B, scores from 70 to 79 receive a C, scores from 60 to 69 receive a D, and scores below 60 receive an F.
The Texas Education Agency released the 2026 accountability ratings Aug. 14.
Attempts to reach Latexo High School Principal Blake Thornton and Latexo ISD Superintendent Michael Woodard for comment were unsuccessful as of press time.
The report card identifies where performance changed but does not explain what caused the decline. For Latexo High School, the numbers point most clearly to a challenge in helping students make academic progress from one year to the next and in improving outcomes among identified student groups.
Greg Ritchie can be reached at [email protected]
