College Station Today

Burleson County schools enrolled 138 students identified as being gifted and talented during the 2023-24 school year, a 38% increase from the previous school year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

This translates to roughly 4.4% of the 3,107 students enrolled in the county schools that year.

Burleson County enrolled the 146th highest number of gifted and talented students among Texas counties.

A recent study by WalletHub classified Texas as one of the least-educated states in the U.S., ranking it 41st out of 50 in educational quality and student outcomes.

Underfunding is a frequently cited challenge facing the state's school districts. According to a 2024 report from the Texas Education Agency, per-pupil funding has not increased since 2019, despite inflation rates rising by more than 20% since then.

“As a result, many districts in our very own Central Texas region are being forced to cut back on essential programs, services, consider school closures, and adopt deficit budgets just to provide students with the education that they deserve,” Hutto ISD Trustee James Matlock stated in an interview.

School	Number of gifted and talented students	Total Number of students
Caldwell Elementary School	23	644
Caldwell High School	20	592
Caldwell Intermediate School	32	436
Caldwell Junior High School	21	293
Somerville Elementary School	0	209
Somerville High School	10	199
Somerville Intermediate School	3	128