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Bell Elementary

Q: Is Bell Elementary a good school?

Bell Elementary ranks 2628 th of 4627 Texas elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public, Magnet Grades PK, KG-5

2628^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 4,627 Texas Elementary Schools

Better than 43% of Texas elementary schools

Summary

Bell Elementary is a PK-5 public school in the Houston Independent School District (Isd), serving 539 students in a densely populated area of southwest Houston. The school has historically been low-performing, but recent data shows a dramatic turnaround: its state ranking jumped from the 23rd percentile in 2024-2025 to the 43rd percentile in 2025-2026, its best performance since 2015-2016. This upward trend is especially notable compared to nearby schools like Valley West Elementary, which dropped from the 53rd to the 41st percentile in the same period, and Best Elementary in Alief Independent School District (Isd), which remains in the bottom 16th percentile.

Bell Elementary stands out for its exceptional performance with specific student groups. In 2025-2026, the school ranked in the 82nd percentile statewide for serving African American students, earning a 4-star rating—far surpassing its overall performance and most nearby schools. It also ranked in the 64th percentile for serving low socioeconomic status students, a notable achievement given that 87-93% of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This contrasts with schools like Gross Elementary and KIPP Shine Prep, which have similar poverty rates but lack comparable subgroup data. However, the school struggles with Special Education students (14th percentile) and has shown volatility with Gifted & Talented programs, suggesting targeted support for these groups needs improvement.

Bell’s recent improvement puts it in a more competitive position relative to nearby charter schools. While Arrow Academy - Liberation Academy (83rd percentile) and KIPP Shine Prep (76th percentile) remain higher-performing, Bell’s 43rd percentile now surpasses Step Charter Elementary (47th percentile) and far exceeds Etoile Academy Charter School-Bissonnet (14th percentile). The school also shows hidden strengths in math instruction for Spanish-speaking students, with scores significantly outperforming district and state averages. Science scores remain a systemic challenge, as every nearby school with data also scores well below the state average. Overall, Bell Elementary appears to be using its resources effectively, showing a clear upward trajectory that makes it a school to watch.

539

Students ?

14.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,007

Per pupil spending ?

87.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

12323 Shaftsbury Dr
Houston, TX 77031-3123

(281) 983-2800

District: Houston Independent School District (Isd)

Students who attend Bell Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Welch Middle
High:	Westbury High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

75.0%

African American:

19.7%

White:

2.4%

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Compare Bell Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 12th percentile in 2021 → 43rd in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 43rd (2026) from a 12th-percentile low (2021)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Texas average (44% vs 50% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school44%

District avg51%

Texas avg50%

2,628^th of 4,627

Texas public elementary schools ?

Bottom 43%▼ down 10 pts since 2016

From top 47% (2016) to bottom 43% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Texas Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

95^th of 170Elementary Schools in the Houston Independent School District (Isd)

438^th of 951Houston Independent School District (Isd) among Texas districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	41.4	2628 of 4627	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	27.7	3571 of 4651	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.1	3336 of 4710	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.7	3646 of 4647	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	41.3	2660 of 4581	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	17.5	4047 of 4578	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.0	3022 of 4479	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.6	2825 of 4359	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2017	44.2	2276 of 4329	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2016	56.3	1994 of 4286	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2015	48.8	2400 of 4320	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2014	55.1	2041 of 4260	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2013	61.4	1645 of 4221	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2012	60.7	1659 of 4206	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	52.7	2248 of 4095	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	48.8	2393 of 3937	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	51.0	2192 of 3884	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2008	55.3	1922 of 3768	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2007	45.3	2443 of 3724	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2006	32.3	2759 of 3476	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	30.6	2844 of 3475	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	27.5	2954 of 3465	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	71.6	440 of 2406	81.7%	★★★★☆
2024	56.2	914 of 2443	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	34.1	1687 of 2443	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	66.1	580 of 2421	76.0%	★★★★☆
2021	46.7	1158 of 2444	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	57.7	859 of 2515	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	60.7	752 of 2483	69.7%	★★★☆☆

At Risk

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2022	55.2	1742 of 4461	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	31.5	3248 of 4331	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	37.4	2868 of 4295	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	41.5	2536 of 4240	40.2%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2024	39.3	2262 of 3668	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.7	2035 of 3556	42.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	50.9	1593 of 3487	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	28.4	2750 of 3446	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	34.7	2416 of 3333	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.5	2402 of 3226	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	47.3	2276 of 4575	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	30.1	3476 of 4658	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.5	3903 of 4588	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	46.5	2365 of 4561	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	21.8	3766 of 4499	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	36.7	2898 of 4348	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.4	2596 of 4306	39.7%	★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	62.1	1326 of 3075	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	5.9	2915 of 2980	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.2	2824 of 2958	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	2.1	2989 of 3006	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	33.9	2573 of 3184	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.0	2808 of 3106	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	38.1	2906 of 4413	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.6	2943 of 4465	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.2	3003 of 4401	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	44.5	2485 of 4376	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	17.1	4052 of 4329	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	38.0	2767 of 4188	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	39.0	2654 of 4168	36.3%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	56.9	1646 of 4520	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.1	2696 of 4594	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.0	3219 of 4521	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	47.4	2327 of 4477	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	22.7	3869 of 4451	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	47.7	2231 of 4309	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	46.6	2259 of 4264	47.0%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	35.1	3085 of 4582	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.8	3092 of 4647	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.1	3324 of 4585	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	37.4	2895 of 4563	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	16.4	4103 of 4498	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	34.9	3005 of 4357	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.2	3233 of 4319	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	25.4	3705 of 4301	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	67.0	929 of 4292	78.4%	★★★★☆
2023	13.9	4018 of 4086	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.1	3675 of 3952	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	28.2	2954 of 3799	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	39.1	2128 of 3684	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.8	2734 of 3558	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2018	59.1	1177 of 3127	62.4%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2026)82nd percentile+39 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)64th percentile+20 vs school

White (2018)62nd percentile+27 vs school

At Risk (2022)61st percentile+19 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)57th percentile+14 vs school

Female (2026)50th percentile+7 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)38th percentile+9 vs school

Hispanic (2026)34th percentile-9 vs school

Male (2026)33rd percentile-11 vs school

Special Education (2026)14th percentile-29 vs school

By subject vs Texas (2025-2026) ?

Reading48%-6 vs state

Mathematics42%-5 vs state

★

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Schools Near Bell Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				STAAR Spanish Reading (2026)			STAAR Spanish Mathematics (2026)			STAAR EOC Algebra I (2026)	STAAR Reading (2026)						STAAR Mathematics (2026)						STAAR Social Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	STAAR Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	STAAR Spanish Reading 4th Grade	STAAR Spanish Reading 5th Grade	STAAR Spanish Mathematics 3rd Grade	STAAR Spanish Mathematics 4th Grade	STAAR Spanish Mathematics 5th Grade	STAAR EOC Algebra I End of Course	STAAR Reading 3rd Grade	STAAR Reading 4th Grade	STAAR Reading 5th Grade	STAAR Reading 6th Grade	STAAR Reading 7th Grade	STAAR Reading 8th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	STAAR Mathematics 4th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 5th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 6th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 7th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 8th Grade	STAAR Social Studies 8th Grade	Total
Bell Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	12323 Shaftsbury Dr	Houston	77031	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(281) 983-2800	539	38	14.1	87.6%	13 (2.4%)	106 (19.7%)	404 (75.0%)	7 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.5%)	41.4	2628^th of 4627 public elementary schools	43.2%		27.7	3571^st of 4651 public elementary schools	23.2%	943	0.0							54.1	48.4	41.8				40.9	38.8	45.5					$10,007
Gross Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	12583 S Gessner Dr	Houston	77071	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 778-8450	390	26	15.0	99.5%	8 (2.1%)	141 (36.2%)	225 (57.7%)	12 (3.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	61.2	1563^rd of 4627 public elementary schools	66.2%		30.5	3397^th of 4651 public elementary schools	27.0%	1834	27.3	60.0	0.0	73.3		40.0		62.3	43.8	58.0				29.4	60.0	70.0					$10,193
Step Charter III	Public, Charter	K-3	8320 W Airport Blvd	Houston	77071	Harris County	Step Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(713) 636-9918	76	7	10.3	77.6%	5 (6.6%)	38 (50.0%)	30 (39.5%)	1 (1.3%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.3%)	52.9	1965^th of 4627 public elementary schools	57.5%					(n/a)								55.6	46.2					66.7	38.5						$00
Step Charter Elementary	Public, Charter	K-8	11250 S Wilcrest Dr	Houston	77099	Harris County	Step Charter School	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(281) 988-7797	293	19	15.1	77.1%	12 (4.1%)	55 (18.8%)	151 (51.5%)	66 (22.5%)	5 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.4%)	43.9	2457^th of 4627 public elementary schools	46.9%		63	1435^th of 4651 public elementary schools	69.1%	1022							40.5	59.3	35.3	45.2	42.1	71.0	73.7	48.2	32.4	54.8	47.4	41.9		42.1	$13,745
Arrow Academy - Liberation Academy	Public, Charter	K-6	11600 W Airport Blvd	Meadows Place	77477	Fort Bend County	Arrow Academy	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(346) 754-5867	190	16	11.9	60.5%	7 (3.7%)	153 (80.5%)	21 (11.1%)	2 (1.1%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.6%)	79.5	777^th of 4627 public elementary schools	83.2%		52.8	1972^nd of 4651 public elementary schools	57.6%	1195								63.0	64.5	77.1	66.7			51.9	64.5	62.9	46.2				$12,567
Best Elementary	Public	K-4	10000 Centre Pkwy	Houston	77036	Harris County	Alief Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 988-6445	655	48	13.5	93.0%	15 (2.3%)	63 (9.6%)	563 (86.0%)	8 (1.2%)	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	23.3	3865^th of 4627 public elementary schools	16.5%		9.9	4486^th of 4651 public elementary schools	3.5%	621	21.1	38.5						41.7	45.8					23.4	33.3						$9,213
Valley West Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	10707 S Gessner Dr	Houston	77071	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 773-6151	505	38	13.3	90.9%	12 (2.4%)	156 (30.9%)	320 (63.4%)	9 (1.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.2%)	40.1	2741^st of 4627 public elementary schools	40.8%		49.4	2179^th of 4651 public elementary schools	53.1%	562					0.0			47.0	42.1	57.0				40.0	42.1	36.7					$8,689
KIPP Shine Prep	Public, Charter	PK, KG-4	10711 KIPP Way	Houston	77099	Harris County	KIPP Texas Public Schools	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(832) 230-0548	920	39	23.6	95.0%	9 (1.0%)	299 (32.5%)	529 (57.5%)	57 (6.2%)	15 (1.6%)	2 (0.2%)	9 (1.0%)	70.2	1127^th of 4627 public elementary schools	75.6%		67.1	1255^th of 4651 public elementary schools	73.0%	128								48.8	58.6					52.3	74.2						$7,877
E A Jones Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	302 Martin Ln	Missouri City	77489	Fort Bend County	Fort Bend Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(281) 634-4960	536	40	13.3	81.2%	12 (2.2%)	214 (39.9%)	284 (53.0%)	8 (1.5%)	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.2%)	46.3	2315^th of 4627 public elementary schools	50.0%		35.2	3112^th of 4651 public elementary schools	33.1%	797	7.1	7.1	45.5	24.1	22.2	33.3		63.8	44.4	56.3				39.5	41.8	40.0					$12,121
Etoile Academy Charter School-Bissonnet	Public, Charter	K-7	9745 Bissonnet St	Houston	77036	Harris County	Etoile Academy Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(713) 265-8657	303	19	16.2	95.7%	0 (0.0%)	39 (12.9%)	257 (84.8%)	4 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	21.2	3983^rd of 4627 public elementary schools	13.9%		15.8	4247^th of 4651 public elementary schools	8.7%	264	20.0			0.0				32.7		20.7	30.4	38.5	50.0	30.8		24.1	38.3	51.9	47.4	34.2	$13,630

Frequently Asked Questions about Bell Elementary

What schools do graduates of Bell Elementary attend?

Students who attend Bell Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Welch Middle
High : Westbury High School

What district is Bell Elementary in?

Houston Independent School District (Isd)

Is Bell Elementary a good school?

Bell Elementary ranks 2628^th of 4627 Texas elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Bell Elementary?

Students at Bell Elementary are 75% Hispanic, 20% African American, 2% White, 1% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

How many students attend Bell Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 539 students attended Bell Elementary.

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Texas Education Agency.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.