Petroplex News

Howard County schools enrolled 3,355 students who identified as economically disadvantaged in the state during the 2021-22 school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Of the 5,489 students enrolled in Howard County schools, 61.1% were considered economically disadvantaged. This is a 6.8% increase over the previous school year.

Howard County enrolled the 92nd highest number of students identified as economically disadvantaged among Texas counties.

Education in Texas is often a hot button issue, especially as test scores lag behind other states.

"The problems commonly cited are flaws in the school financing system, relatively low teacher salary, poor test performance by students...dropouts from traditional schools in favor of charter schools...gun violence, and mental health issues," claimed the Texas Almanac.

School	Number of Economically Disadvantaged Students	Total Number of Students
Big Spring High School	783	1,100
Big Spring Junior High School	434	575
Big Spring Intermediate School	398	534
Moss Elementary School	355	473
Marcy Elementary School	281	353
Coahoma Elementary School	240	547
Washington Elementary School	188	264
Goliad Elementary School	176	243
Forsan Elementary School	148	369
Forsan High School	110	400
Coahoma Junior High School	94	279
Coahoma High School	77	260
Kentwood Elementary School	71	92