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Purcell Elementary

Q: Is Purcell Elementary a good school?

Purcell Elementary ranks 3004 th of 4651 Texas elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

3004^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 4,651 Texas Elementary Schools

Better than 35% of Texas elementary schools

Summary

Purcell Elementary is a public elementary school in Abilene, Texas, serving students from kindergarten to 5th grade as part of the Abilene Independent School District. The school has seen fluctuating performance over the years, with its statewide ranking ranging from 1,906 out of 4,286 Texas elementary schools in 2015-2016 to 4,240 out of 4,581 in 2021-2022, and currently holds a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger for the 2024-2025 school year.

Purcell Elementary's student performance on STAAR tests is generally lower than the Abilene ISD and Texas state averages across various grade levels and subjects. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's 3rd-grade reading proficiency is 55.56%, compared to 43.07% for Abilene ISD and 52.02% for Texas, but its 5th-grade science proficiency is only 13.24%, significantly lower than the district (27.93%) and state (29.57%) averages. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 84.01% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2023-2024 school year.

Purcell Elementary's performance is generally lower than the nearby schools within the Abilene ISD, such as Stafford Elementary, Bonham Elementary, and Alcorta Elementary, which have higher STAAR proficiency rates and better statewide rankings. The school's performance for different student subgroups, such as African American, Hispanic, and Multi-racial students, has been consistently low, suggesting the need for targeted interventions and strategies to address the specific needs and challenges faced by these student populations.

537

Students ?

15.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$7,964

Per pupil spending ?

80.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3633 N 14th St
Abilene, TX 79603-4534

(325) 671-4845

District: Abilene Independent School District (Isd)

Students who attend Purcell Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Craig Middle
High:	Abilene High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

57.7%

White:

22.0%

African American:

15.5%

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Compare Purcell Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 7th percentile in 2022 → 35th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 35th (2025) from a 7th-percentile low (2022)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Texas average (39% vs 47% meeting standards)

!Science scores 16 pts below the Texas average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school39%

District avg39%

Texas avg47%

3,004^th of 4,651

Texas public elementary schools ?

Bottom 35%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 42% (2015) to bottom 35% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Texas Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 13Elementary Schools in the Abilene Independent School District (Isd)

722^nd of 961Abilene 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
2025	36.7	3004 of 4651	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	20.2	4059 of 4710	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.1	3877 of 4647	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.1	4240 of 4581	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	27.1	3375 of 4578	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.0	3688 of 4479	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.4	3721 of 4359	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	30.0	3149 of 4329	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	57.7	1906 of 4286	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2015	47.0	2489 of 4320	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2014	59.1	1818 of 4260	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2013	52.6	2153 of 4221	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2012	52.9	2101 of 4206	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2011	48.4	2502 of 4095	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2010	56.3	2000 of 3937	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	63.3	1529 of 3884	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2008	65.8	1308 of 3768	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2007	70.9	1012 of 3724	72.8%	★★★★☆
2006	63.2	1359 of 3476	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2005	73.8	762 of 3475	78.1%	★★★★☆
2004	77.9	517 of 3465	85.1%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2025	41.0	1134 of 1905	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.7	1515 of 2443	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	24.5	2074 of 2443	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.1	2225 of 2421	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	26.2	2020 of 2444	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.9	1881 of 2515	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	48.2	1164 of 2483	53.1%	★★★☆☆

At Risk

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2022	13.6	4322 of 4461	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	30.2	3355 of 4331	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.6	3430 of 4295	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.6	3398 of 4240	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2024	22.2	3191 of 3668	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	4.9	3551 of 3556	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.9	3485 of 3487	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	13.8	3389 of 3446	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2025	36.9	2439 of 3744	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	20.6	4050 of 4658	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	4075 of 4588	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.2	4269 of 4561	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	24.2	3583 of 4499	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.3	3989 of 4348	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	21.8	3731 of 4306	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2025	53.7	1545 of 2619	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.9	2140 of 2980	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.7	2514 of 2958	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	64.3	1222 of 3006	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	37.6	2470 of 3184	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	55.7	1707 of 3106	45.0%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2025	42.4	2179 of 3644	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	20.8	3956 of 4465	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.6	3825 of 4401	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.4	4199 of 4376	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	27.7	3393 of 4329	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.2	3776 of 4188	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.4	3823 of 4168	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2025	36.5	2557 of 3705	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.0	3770 of 4594	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.2	3815 of 4521	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.6	4214 of 4477	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	34.2	3097 of 4451	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	30.4	3433 of 4309	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.0	3389 of 4264	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2025	37.8	2383 of 3739	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	26.9	3669 of 4647	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.7	3498 of 4585	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.2	4126 of 4563	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	33.0	2973 of 4498	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	33.0	3143 of 4357	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.0	3654 of 4319	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2023	9.4	1063 of 1099	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	18.3	851 of 961	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	37.7	753 of 1112	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	28.5	817 of 1046	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2025	43.0	1974 of 3549	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	50.0	1904 of 4292	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.8	1970 of 4086	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.2	2189 of 3952	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	39.9	2058 of 3799	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.4	1235 of 3684	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	57.3	1042 of 3558	70.7%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2025	28.5	2076 of 2612	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	36.3	2158 of 3108	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.2	2186 of 3106	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.4	2402 of 3082	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.3	2416 of 3082	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.9	2410 of 3142	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.3	2671 of 3127	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2025)44th percentile+9 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)41st percentile+6 vs school

African American (2025)40th percentile+5 vs school

Hispanic (2025)40th percentile+5 vs school

Male (2025)36th percentile~ school

Female (2025)35th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)31st percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)21st percentile-15 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)13th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2023)3rd percentile-13 vs school

At Risk (2022)3rd percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs Texas (2024-2025) ?

Reading52%-3 vs state

Mathematics33%-13 vs state

Science13%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Purcell Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				STAAR Spanish Reading (2025)			STAAR Spanish Mathematics (2025)		STAAR Reading (2025)			STAAR Mathematics (2025)			STAAR Science (2025)	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 (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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 Reading 3rd Grade	STAAR Reading 4th Grade	STAAR Reading 5th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	STAAR Mathematics 4th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 5th Grade	STAAR Science 5th Grade	Total
Purcell Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3633 N 14th St	Abilene	79603	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 671-4845	537	34	15.6	80.4%	118 (22.0%)	83 (15.5%)	310 (57.7%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (4.3%)	36.7	3004^th of 4651 public elementary schools	35.4%		20.2	4059^th of 4710 public elementary schools	13.8%	1055						55.6	48.9	50.0	40.5	28.9	27.9	13.2	$7,964
Stafford Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1026 N Pioneer Dr	Abilene	79603	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 671-4895	473	30	15.6	85.4%	128 (27.1%)	62 (13.1%)	257 (54.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.4%)	42.2	2628^th of 4651 public elementary schools	43.5%		43.8	2597^th of 4710 public elementary schools	44.9%	31						41.3	47.1	41.7	35.0	56.3	36.1	30.6	$9,965
Ortiz Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2550 Vogel	Abilene	79603	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 671-4945	523	36	14.6	91.0%	35 (6.7%)	63 (12.0%)	408 (78.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.1%)	13.8	4341^st of 4651 public elementary schools	6.7%		12	4465^th of 4710 public elementary schools	5.2%	124	11.5	28.6	14.3	11.1	20.0	33.9	29.1	20.3	28.4	31.8	10.1	7.4	$9,388
Martinez Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1250 Merchant St	Abilene	79603	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 794-4160	371	26	14.4	89.8%	45 (12.1%)	36 (9.7%)	279 (75.2%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.4%)	19.6	4047^th of 4651 public elementary schools	13.0%		20.4	4051^st of 4710 public elementary schools	14.0%	4						24.6	51.7	28.9	10.8	36.7	23.1	13.5	$11,302
Bonham Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	717 Buccaneer Dr	Abilene	79605	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 690-3745	481	34	14.0	77.8%	158 (32.8%)	56 (11.6%)	243 (50.5%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.0%)	38.7	2867^th of 4651 public elementary schools	38.4%		26.7	3675^th of 4710 public elementary schools	22.0%	808						33.8	51.4	54.7	21.6	45.8	38.7	28.0	$10,293
Austin Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2341 Greenbriar Dr	Abilene	79605	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	No	(325) 690-3920	729	43	17.1	52.8%	367 (50.3%)	51 (7.0%)	259 (35.5%)	8 (1.1%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	41 (5.6%)	59.5	1602^nd of 4651 public elementary schools	65.6%		53.2	1978^th of 4710 public elementary schools	58.0%	376						46.8	61.8	62.3	46.4	51.2	35.5	43.8	$8,294
Bowie Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2034 Jeanette St	Abilene	79602	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 671-4770	473	35	13.4	86.9%	149 (31.5%)	42 (8.9%)	260 (55.0%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (3.6%)	21.8	3926^th of 4651 public elementary schools	15.6%		23.4	3869^th of 4710 public elementary schools	17.9%	57						33.3	35.2	40.3	34.3	24.4	30.7	19.4	$9,893
Thomas Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1240 Lakeside Dr	Abilene	79602	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 671-4995	378	28	13.4	74.6%	75 (19.8%)	141 (37.3%)	143 (37.8%)	8 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.9%)	26.8	3619^th of 4651 public elementary schools	22.2%		31.8	3358^th of 4710 public elementary schools	28.7%	261						22.4	36.0	48.3	20.7	26.0	40.0	30.0	$9,969
Alcorta Elementary	Public	K-5	2650 S 32nd St	Abilene	79605	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 690-3602	410	24	17.2	67.3%	168 (41.0%)	50 (12.2%)	166 (40.5%)	6 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.9%)	39.1	2829^th of 4651 public elementary schools	39.2%		47.5	2337^th of 4710 public elementary schools	50.4%	492						40.3	39.4	50.0	29.6	38.0	54.7	29.7	$9,391
Bassetti Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5749 Hwy 277 S	Abilene	79606	Taylor County	Abilene Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(325) 690-3720	546	36	15.1	71.6%	175 (32.1%)	85 (15.6%)	215 (39.4%)	18 (3.3%)	7 (1.3%)	5 (0.9%)	41 (7.5%)	40.4	2744^th of 4651 public elementary schools	41.0%		36.5	3061^st of 4710 public elementary schools	35.0%	317						53.4	50.0	52.7	40.2	24.6	36.5	21.6	$8,679

Frequently Asked Questions about Purcell Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Purcell Elementary?

Students at Purcell Elementary are 58% Hispanic, 22% White, 15% African American, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Purcell Elementary in?

Abilene Independent School District (Isd)

Is Purcell Elementary a good school?

Purcell Elementary ranks 3004^th of 4651 Texas elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Purcell Elementary attend?

Students who attend Purcell Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Craig Middle
High : Abilene High School

How many students attend Purcell Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 537 students attended Purcell Elementary.

Rate Purcell 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.