Lakewood Elementary

Lakewood Elementary is a high-performing K-5 public school in Dallas, TX, serving 1,067 students in the Dallas Independent School District (Isd) and consistently ranking in the top 1% of all Texas elementary schools for nearly a decade.

Lakewood Elementary stands out as an elite academic powerhouse within its district, with test scores dramatically higher than both the district and state averages—often by 30 to 40 percentage points. For the 2025-2026 school year, proficiency rates across all subjects and grades range from 86% to 90%. This performance is sustained across nearly all student subgroups, including special education and low socioeconomic status students, with the school ranking in the 99th percentile for these groups. However, one area of relative weakness is Gifted and Talented programs, where the school ranks in the 64th percentile, suggesting that while the school excels for the average student, its highest-achieving learners may not receive as much differentiation. Science is also a slight relative weak point, with 5th grade proficiency at 72% in 2024-2025, though this is still nearly 2.5 times the district average.

Lakewood is an outlier compared to nearby schools. For example, Mockingbird Elementary, just 1.5 miles away, is also a 5-star school but ranks 249th in the state (95th percentile) versus Lakewood’s 31st (99th percentile). Other nearby schools like William Lipscomb Elementary, Eduardo Mata Montessori School, and Mount Auburn Steam Academy have proficiency rates that often fall below 60%, and in many cases below 50%. This creates a stark contrast within the district, where Lakewood functions as an "island of excellence" while many nearby peers struggle to meet state averages. The school’s success is supported by a highly affluent community, with only 9.56% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, compared to rates of 76% to 96% at some neighboring schools.