Summary:
The East Central Independent School District (Isd) includes eight elementary schools serving grades PK through 5, with enrollment ranging from 457 to 806 students and a district ranking in the 25th percentile statewide, indicating significant room for improvement overall.
The standout school is Highland Forest Elementary, which achieved a remarkable 4-star rating (85th percentile) in 2025-2026 after jumping from a 1-star rating just two years prior, making it the highest-performing school in the district despite having the second-highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students (80.84%). In contrast, Pecan Valley Elementary has the lowest student-to-teacher ratio (13.7:1) and highest spending per student ($11,061) but ranks near the bottom (27th percentile), showing that resources alone don't guarantee success. Salado Elementary performs admirably at the 69th percentile despite having the highest poverty rate (81.25%), while Oak Crest Elementary shows steady improvement alongside Highland Forest. The remaining schools—Honor Elementary, Harmony Elementary, Sinclair Elementary, and Tradition Elementary—cluster in the bottom 28th percentile, creating a clear performance gap within the district.
A critical district-wide weakness is 5th Grade Science, where the average proficiency was just 13.51% in 2024-2025 compared to the state average of 29.57%, and even Highland Forest had only 1.08% proficiency in that subject. Bilingual programs at Salado and Oak Crest show mixed results, with some Spanish-language cohorts performing well while others struggle significantly. Overall, the district's average proficiency in Reading (46.2%) and Mathematics (39.3%) trails state averages, but Highland Forest's dramatic turnaround demonstrates that high poverty does not have to limit academic achievement, offering a model for improvement across the district.
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