Summary
Henderson N Elementary is a small PK-5 school in Houston, TX, serving 251 students within the Houston Independent School District (Isd), and it faces significant academic challenges despite a low student-to-teacher ratio of 12.5:1.
The school's most notable characteristic is its extreme academic volatility, which sets it apart from nearby schools. For example, in 2022-2023, 3rd-grade Reading proficiency soared to 75%, far exceeding the district and state averages, but just one year later, it plummeted to 8.57%. This pattern of dramatic swings is not seen in comparison schools like Eliot Elementary (71st percentile) or Pugh Elementary (52nd percentile), which serve similarly high-poverty populations but show more stable performance. While Atherton Elementary, located on the same street, also struggles, Henderson N is consistently the lowest-performing school in its cluster, ranking in the 9th percentile statewide. Science scores are a persistent weakness, with only 11.54% of 5th graders proficient in 2024-2025, compared to 24.95% for the district.
The school's struggles are not due to a lack of funding, as it spends $11,761 per student—higher than several nearby schools. Instead, the data suggests a "cohort effect," where performance heavily depends on the specific group of students in each grade. For instance, the 5th-grade class of 2025-2026 is the strongest, achieving 46.43% in Reading, while the 4th-grade class is the weakest. This inconsistency makes it difficult to implement stable improvement plans. The school has shown it can achieve excellence, as seen in 2022-2023, but has been unable to replicate that success. The key takeaway is that Henderson N needs a strategy to stabilize performance and create a consistent learning environment, focusing on replicating what worked in that standout year across all grades and subjects.
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