Goose Creek CISD by the numbers: a 96 percent graduation rate, and the test scores behind it
Goose Creek CISD, the school district that serves most of Baytown, graduates its students at a higher rate than Texas as a whole, and the state counts almost all of its graduates as ready for college, a career or the military.
Goose Creek CISD, the school district that serves most of Baytown, graduates its students at a higher rate than Texas as a whole, and the state counts almost all of its graduates as ready for college, a career or the military. On the state's tests, though, its students score below the state average in every subject, and fewer of its graduates who enroll at a Texas college are ready for college-level work once they get there. Both pictures come from the same state report.
Where the numbers come from
Every year the Texas Education Agency publishes a Texas Academic Performance Report for each district, with test results, graduation rates, college readiness, students and staff. These figures are from the 2024-25 report for Goose Creek CISD. Test results are from spring 2025. Graduation and college-readiness figures follow the class of 2024; college enrollment follows the class of 2023, the most recent the state reports. Barbers Hill ISD, in Mont Belvieu, and Crosby ISD publish their own reports and are not included here.
Who the district serves
Goose Creek had 23,943 students in 2024-25. About 66 percent are Hispanic, 16 percent African American and 14 percent white. About 74 percent are economically disadvantaged, against 61 percent statewide, and about 25 percent are learning English, about the same as the state.
The diploma
The district's four-year graduation rate for the class of 2024 was 96.1 percent. The state's was 90.7 percent. Its reported annual dropout rate for grades 9 through 12 was 0.0 percent in 2023-24, down from 0.8 percent the year before, against 1.9 percent statewide. Followed over four years, 2.1 percent of the class of 2024 dropped out and 1.4 percent were still in high school.
The state also counts how many graduates are "college, career or military ready." For the class of 2024, that was 93.8 percent in Goose Creek and 81.8 percent statewide. The state counted 89.8 percent of Goose Creek graduates as college ready, against 70.0 percent across Texas.
The tests
On the spring 2025 state tests, the share of students who met grade level or better, across all grades and subjects:
- All subjects: 40 percent in Goose Creek, 52 percent in the Houston region, 50 percent statewide.
- Reading and language arts: 44 percent, against 54 percent statewide.
- Math: 34 percent, against 45 percent statewide, and down from 37 percent in 2024.
- Science: 39 percent, against 47 percent statewide, and up from 36 percent.
The same report that shows a 96 percent graduation rate shows test scores below the state average in every subject.
College entrance tests tell a similar story. Goose Creek's class of 2024 averaged 904 on the SAT, against 975 statewide, though a larger share of its graduates took the SAT or ACT: 83.8 percent, against 79.1 percent. About 16 percent of its test takers met the state's college-ready benchmark on the SAT or ACT, against about 29 percent statewide.
How both can be true
A big part of the answer is in how the state counts "college ready." A graduate can qualify several ways, including passing a college placement test, completing and getting credit for a college-prep course in English and math, earning dual credit or an associate degree, or passing AP or IB exams. In Goose Creek, 51.4 percent of 2024 graduates qualified through college-prep courses in both subjects, against 20.2 percent statewide. On the placement test itself, 13.2 percent met the benchmark in both subjects, about the same as the state's 12.7 percent.
What happens next is the other measure. Of the class of 2023, 51.4 percent enrolled at a Texas college, a little above the state's 47.6 percent. But only 35.3 percent of those students finished their first year without needing a developmental, or remedial, course. Statewide, 53.6 percent did.
Goose Creek graduates also earn college credit in high school through dual credit. About 36 percent of the class of 2024 earned dual credit, against 25 percent statewide, and 4.6 percent earned an associate degree, against 3.1 percent. On AP and IB exams, fewer did: 10.5 percent met the standard, against 21.0 percent statewide.
Attendance
Goose Creek's attendance rate in 2024-25 was 93.3 percent, close to the state's 93.9 percent. But 21.0 percent of its students were chronically absent, meaning they missed at least a tenth of the school year, up from 19.2 percent a year earlier. Statewide, the figure was 18.0 percent.
Teachers and classrooms
The district had about 1,535 teachers, or 15.6 students per teacher, against 15.0 statewide. Its average teacher salary was $68,862, about $5,100 above the state average, and a beginning teacher earned $60,939, against $55,689 statewide. Teachers averaged 10.3 years of experience; 41 percent had five years or fewer, against 36 percent statewide.
Classes in grades 1 through 5 are smaller than the state's: about 17 students in grades 1 through 4, against about 20. Kindergarten classes are slightly larger than the state's.
Read the fine print
- "Met grade level" is the state's "Meets Grade Level or Above" standard on STAAR, its main test, and on the high school end-of-course exams.
- The graduation rate is the state's four-year longitudinal rate. The federal rate, which counts students differently, was 95.1 percent, against 90.7 percent statewide.
- College readiness, SAT, ACT and college enrollment figures follow earlier graduating classes, so they lag the test results by a year or two.
- The accountability score is from the cover of the state's report. The full rating, with campus grades, is on the TEA accountability site.
- Each school's numbers differ from the district's. The state publishes a report for every campus.
Before you go
- Look up your own school's report on the TEA website; search by campus name.
- Ask your school about tutoring, dual credit and the college placement test before senior year.
- Our schools page and school calendars cover enrollment and holidays.
More Baytown by the numbers: Baytown's health, by the numbers: the starkest gap is insurance; Homes cost less here. Renters feel the same squeeze as everywhere.; Crime in Baytown, by the numbers: down from the 2022 peak, still above nearby suburbs.
Sources
- Texas Education Agency, 2024-25 Texas Academic Performance Report, Goose Creek CISD (101911) (https://tea.texas.gov/texas-schools/accountability/academic-accountability/performance-reporting/texas-academic-performance-reports)
- Texas Education Agency, Texas Accountability Rating System (https://txschools.gov/)
En español
Goose Creek CISD, el distrito escolar de la mayor parte de Baytown, tiene una tasa de graduación más alta que la de Texas: 96.1 por ciento de la generación de 2024 se graduó en cuatro años, frente a 90.7 por ciento en el estado. Pero en los exámenes estatales de 2025, solo 40 por ciento de sus estudiantes alcanzó el nivel de grado en todas las materias, frente a 50 por ciento en Texas. El estado considera "listos para la universidad" a 89.8 por ciento de sus graduados, en buena medida porque aprobaron cursos de preparación universitaria; pero de los graduados de 2023 que entraron a una universidad de Texas, solo 35.3 por ciento terminó el primer año sin necesitar un curso de recuperación, frente a 53.6 por ciento en el estado. El 21 por ciento de los estudiantes faltó a por lo menos la décima parte del año escolar. La calificación estatal de 2025 para el distrito es C. Las cifras vienen del informe anual de la Agencia de Educación de Texas.