Summary
Black Elementary in Cypress, TX, is a large, high-performing PK-5 school in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (Isd) with 1,125 students and a strong track record of academic excellence, earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past decade. The school stands out for its exceptional performance in early grades, particularly in 3rd and 4th grade Reading and Math, where proficiency rates are significantly higher than both district and state averages. For example, 3rd grade Reading proficiency is 71.11% compared to the district's 57.65%, and 4th grade Math is 70.67% versus the district's 56.41%. However, the school faces a notable challenge in 5th grade Math, where only 41.21% of students are proficient, well below the district average of 49.92%—a trend that sets it apart from nearby high-performing schools like Hamilton Elementary and Farney Elementary, which maintain stronger math scores in 5th grade.
Black Elementary has shown dramatic improvement in serving specific student groups over the last two years, including Hispanic students, Special Education students, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds, all of whom have jumped from 2-star or 3-star ratings to 4-star ratings. This broad-based progress indicates effective, targeted interventions that are closing achievement gaps. The school also operates efficiently, spending less per student ($9,269) than its lower-performing CFISD neighbor, Millsap Elementary ($10,115), while achieving stronger results. Interestingly, Black Elementary sits on the border of two very different districts: it is part of CFISD, a "good" district ranked in the 66th percentile, but is surrounded by schools from the Tomball Independent School District (Isd), a top-tier district ranked in the 97th percentile. Tomball ISD schools like Wildwood Elementary, Willow Creek Elementary, and Canyon Pointe Elementary are all 5-star schools with higher overall rankings, creating an interesting dynamic where Black is a top performer within its own district but faces stiff competition from neighbors across the street.
Within its immediate CFISD cluster, Black Elementary is a solid performer but not the top dog, outperformed by Hamilton Elementary (5-star, 95th percentile) and Sampson Elementary (5-star, 98th percentile), which have lower rates of economic disadvantage. Conversely, Black significantly outperforms Millsap Elementary (3-star, 61st percentile) and Moore Elementary (2-star, 35th percentile), which have higher rates of economic disadvantage. A potential concern is the school's declining performance for Gifted and Talented students, dropping from the 77th percentile to the 56th percentile over the last few years, which may indicate that recent focus on lifting lower-performing groups could be impacting the challenge level for its highest-achieving students. Overall, Black Elementary is a strong, effective school with a compelling story of closing achievement gaps, but it faces clear challenges in 5th grade math and gifted education.
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