Best Elementary Schools in Cypress, TX

This analysis examines 21 elementary schools in Cypress, Texas, serving grades PK through 5, a rapidly growing suburban area northwest of Houston where the vast majority of schools belong to the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (Isd), with two additional schools from the Tomball Independent School District (Isd) and Waller Independent School District (Isd), plus one charter school under Harmony Public Schools - Houston North.

The standout schools in Cypress are Pope Elementary, which has ranked in the 99th percentile for two years and is the only school to achieve that level, along with McGown Elementary and Sampson Elementary, both consistently ranking in the 98th percentile. Rennell Elementary is also a top-tier school at the 97th percentile. The most improved school is Woodard Elementary, which jumped from the 84th to the 92nd percentile. At the other end, Andre Elementary and Lamkin Elementary face significant challenges, ranking in the 30th-44th percentile range with the highest rates of economic disadvantage and critically low math scores, while Millsap Elementary also struggles in the 59th-61st percentile range.

A key takeaway is the "Cypress Paradox": the city hosts some of Texas's best elementary schools alongside schools that are struggling deeply, with a 68-percentile-point gap between the highest and lowest performers. Mathematics is the clearest differentiator, with top schools like Pope Elementary achieving 87% proficiency in 5th grade math versus just 40% at Andre Elementary. Science is a universal strength, with even lower-performing schools nearly doubling the state average. Interestingly, per-student spending shows an inverse relationship with performance—the highest-spending schools like Harmony Science Academy ($10,866) and Millsap ($10,115) are among the lowest-performing, while the lowest-spending school, Wells Elementary ($7,541), is a high-performing 5-star school, indicating that higher spending is often directed toward schools with greater challenges rather than being a driver of top performance.