San Antonio is a fantastic city in the heart of the great state of Texas. The city has much to offer and is an excellent place to raise children, with some great schools. However, some schools are not meeting the needs of students, and those students are falling behind their peers at other schools—low test scores and consistently low academic performance signal that these schools need to do better. If you are looking at schools in San Antonio, these are the worst schools in San Antonio based on test scores, graduation rates, and reviews by students, staff, and parents.
The test scores and ratings come from Great Schools, while the college data and statistics are from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard. Of course, there are other factors that determine a good school, and test scores alone do not form a complete picture, but this article is just looking at test scores and graduation rates. All children deserve an education and a safe and caring school environment. Teachers work hard, but without district support through funding and parent support at home, students will continue to struggle.
Elementary Schools
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Storm Elementary School
Storm Elementary School serves 305 students from grades K-6. The majority of the students come from low-income families. The school is predominately Hispanic, and 27% of the students are learning English. The school is performing low on reading, writing, math, and science. This is a reflection of the school as a whole, but with more ESL assistants, the school could do better to serve the ESL community and possibly raise test scores and English language skills.
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KIPP Esperanza Dual Language Academy
KIPP Esperanza Dual Language Academy serves 654 students in grades K-4. The Dual Language program benefits ESL and regular students because subjects are taught in both languages. However, test scores across the board are lower than they should be; they are far below the average. The low academic performance could be in relation to the high student-teacher ratio, 18 to 1, which is higher than the state average and could explain the lack of performance when students aren't getting enough time with their educators.
Loma Park Elementary School
Loma Park Elementary School serves 642 students in K-5 grades. The school is underperforming in math, science, reading, and writing. The school has qualified teachers, and the student-teacher ratio is lower than the average. The entire student body comes from low-income households, and the lack of family engagement and accountability may be a factor in low academic performance. One-quarter of the student body is learning English.
Alonso S Perales Elementary School
Alonso S Perales Elementary School has 423 students from K-5 grades. In the school, 20% of the students are in the ESL program learning English. And the rest of the students are underperforming academically. The school board needs to find ways to provide more support for the students and staff.
Smith Elementary School
At Smith Elementary School, students are performing far below their peers in reading, math, writing, and science. The 318 students from K-5th grades need extra support to improve their academic performance. The school is predominantly Hispanic, and 24% are learning English. With more resources and community involvement, those numbers could rise.
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Charles C. Ball Elementary School
Charles C. Ball Elementary School serves 598 students in K-8th grades. The school is underperforming academically. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and comes from low-income households. Many of the students, 21%, are learning English, and that has an impact on the school’s overall testing performance.
High Schools
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Positive Solutions Charter School
Positive Solutions Charter School serves 131 students from 9-12 grades and has a low graduation rate of 33%. Low test scores and a lack of college prep courses and advanced learning courses have kept the students underserved academically. The school has mixed reviews from parents and former students.
Por Vida Academy Charter High School
Por Vida Academy Charter High School is a small school with only 123 students from grades 9-12. The school has qualified teachers and a low student-teacher ratio; however, it is still underperforming on test scores. From math to reading to writing and science, the scores are below the state average. Only 60% of the school graduates, and the participation for SAT and ACT is at a mere 1%. The school has received extremely negative reviews from parents, and drug issues and bullying were mentioned.
Healy-Murphy
Healy-Murphy is a small school with only 174 students from grades 9-12. The school has some positive reviews but incredibly low test scores. And with a graduation rate of 34% and extremely low turnout and SAT scores, the students are not meeting college requirements. Students need more advanced courses and a better curriculum to be college ready.
Texans Can Academy at Highlands High School
Texans Can Academy at Highlands High School is not giving its students enough opportunities to succeed. With low test scores and low SAT and ACT scores, the students are not leaving high school college ready. The school serves low-income students and needs more funding to make a difference in students' lives.
Jubilee – Lake View University Prep
Jubilee – Lake View University Prep serves 515 students from K-12 grades. The school is small, with a low student-to-teacher ratio of 10 to 1. However, many of the teachers are not prepared, and only 49% have more than three years of experience. Test scores are low, and the graduation rate is low too. The school offers some advanced courses, and 88% of students participated in the SAT. These students need better schools and more college prep courses to help them meet the required course to graduate and get into a four-year university.
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Lanier High School
Lanier High School is a large high school with 1,605 students from grades 9-12. The school is predominantly Hispanic. 96% of the students are from low-income households, and 16% are learning English. The high school has an 87% graduation rate, but only 40% of those students are continuing their education at university or vocational schools. The school has a high turnout for the SATs at 97%. Unfortunately, the scores were low, and many students are not graduating prepared for additional education.
Colleges
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University of Texas San Antonio
University of Texas San Antonio is a large public four years university. The school enrolls about 35,000 students and has more than 80 undergraduate majors to choose from. The university accepts 90% of applicants, and the Bachelor's degree graduation rate is 52% within 8 years. For the 2022-2023 school year, in-state tuition will cost around $10,966, while out-of-state tuition is estimated at $26,350. For graduates, the average salary after ten years is $54,117.
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