Blanton Elementary

Blanton Elementary is a PK-6 school in Arlington, TX, serving 456 students within the Arlington Independent School District (Isd), and it has recently shown a remarkable academic turnaround that sets it apart from nearby schools.

The most striking finding is Blanton’s dramatic one-year improvement in state ranking, jumping from the 5th percentile in 2024-2025 to the 29th percentile in 2025-2026—its highest ranking in years. This surge is especially notable because most comparable schools, such as Berry Elementary and Johns Elementary, remained in the bottom 10th-20th percentile. A key driver of this success is exceptional math performance in early grades: 3rd graders achieved a 50% proficiency rate, and 4th graders reached 54.84%, both exceeding state averages and far outpacing nearby schools like Berry (21%) and Johns (22%). Additionally, Blanton excels with its English Language Learner (ELL) students, who ranked in the 44th percentile statewide—a significant improvement from the 7th percentile the prior year. The school also benefits from a low student-to-teacher ratio of 11.6, smaller than Rankin Elementary (15.1) and South Davis Elementary (14.4), which likely supports individualized attention.

Interestingly, Blanton’s math strength extends to Spanish-language instruction, with 4th graders taking the math test in Spanish achieving a 58.33% proficiency rate, compared to the district’s 25.23%. However, the school faces challenges: reading scores generally lag behind district and state averages, and 5th-grade science scores are critically low, often in the single digits. While Blanton’s trajectory is volatile—with past drops from the 30th to 12th percentile—the recent rebound suggests effective interventions are taking hold. For context, Blanton’s 2025-2026 rank (29th percentile) even surpassed Amos Elementary (27th percentile) for the first time, signaling that this school may be outpacing some higher-performing neighbors.