Summary
Crestview Elementary in Waco, TX, is a PK-5 public school in the Waco Independent School District (Isd) serving 464 students, with over 95% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and it has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Texas elementary schools over the past decade, currently sitting in the 2nd percentile statewide.
Academically, Crestview faces significant challenges compared to nearby schools. For example, only 19.3% of Crestview 3rd graders were proficient in Reading in the most recent testing year, while Provident Heights Elementary achieved 41.07% and Bell's Hill Elementary reached 35.92%. The gap is even wider in Math, where Crestview's 3rd-grade proficiency was just 12.28%, compared to 33.93% at Provident Heights. Notably, male students have experienced a sharp decline, dropping from the 25th percentile statewide in 2023-2024 to the 1st percentile by 2025-2026, while female students remained low but stable. The school's Gifted and Talented program also saw a dramatic collapse, falling from the 100th percentile in 2022-2023 to the 9th percentile by 2025-2026, suggesting possible changes in program structure or a very small cohort. On a positive note, 4th-grade Math has shown consistent improvement, rising from 13.33% proficiency in 2023-2024 to 25% in 2025-2026, matching the district average.
Despite spending $12,296 per student—higher than several higher-performing nearby schools like Hillcrest Pds Magnet ($10,658) and Lake Air Montessori School ($11,110)—Crestview's outcomes remain low, indicating that funding alone isn't the solution. Nearby magnet schools, such as Lake Air Montessori (61st percentile) and Hillcrest Pds Magnet (51st percentile), serve a lower percentage of economically disadvantaged students (63% and 68%, respectively) and outperform Crestview. Even Harmony Science Academy (Waco), a charter school with 87% free/reduced lunch, consistently outperforms Crestview, with 36.62% of its 3rd graders proficient in Reading versus Crestview's 19.3%. Crestview did show a brief strength in 5th-grade Science from 2022-2024, outperforming the district, but this success was not sustained.
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