Abilene Times

There were 13 African American students enrolled in Merkel ISD schools in the 2022-23 school year, 85.7% more than the previous year, according to the Texas Education Agency.

Data showed that Merkel ISD schools welcomed 1,140 students during the 2022-23 school year. Among them, African American students comprised 1.1% of the student body to be one of the least represented ethnicities in the district.

Merkel ISD roughly covers schools within Taylor County and has a main office in Merkel.

Among the three schools in Merkel ISD schools, Merkel Middle School recorded the highest enrollment of African American students in the 2022-23 school year, with a total of six students.

Texas is found to be one of the least-educated states in the U.S. A study from WalletHub ranked Texas 41st out of 50 states in terms of the quality of the educational system and how successful students were.

More than 5.4 million students are enrolled in public schools across Texas. Nearly one million of them live in rural areas where options for local public schools are few and far between.

Year	Total District Enrollment	Total of African American Students	African American students %
2022-23	1,140	13	1.1%
2021-22	1,087	7	0.6%
2020-21	1,097	8	0.7%
2019-20	1,108	10	0.9%