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McGowen Elementary

Q: Is McGowen Elementary a good school?

McGowen Elementary ranks 2496 th of 4627 Texas elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

2496^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 4,627 Texas Elementary Schools

Better than 46% of Texas elementary schools

Summary

McGowen Elementary is a PK-5 campus in the Houston Independent School District (Isd) serving 386 students in a high-poverty area of Houston, TX, where over 96% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. This school has undergone a remarkable turnaround, climbing from the bottom 10% of Texas elementary schools to the 46th percentile statewide in just a few years, earning a 2-star rating in 2025-2026 after years of 0-star ratings.

The most impressive strength at McGowen is its 5th-grade math performance, where 64.58% of students were proficient in 2025-2026—significantly outpacing the district (49.58%) and state (47.38%). This is a standout achievement compared to nearby schools like Scroggins Elementary (45.24% proficient) and Cook Junior Elementary, which is only 1.16 miles away but ranks in the 24th percentile overall. McGowen also excels at serving students from low-income backgrounds, ranking in the 62nd percentile for this group, and its African American students perform particularly well, ranking in the 65th percentile statewide. However, the school faces a clear challenge in science, where only 9.52% of 5th graders were proficient in 2024-2025, far below the state average of 29.57%.

While McGowen’s overall trajectory is impressive, results for special education students have been inconsistent, dropping from the 59th percentile in 2022-2023 to the 17th percentile in 2025-2026. This suggests the school’s improvement efforts may not be reaching all students equally. Compared to its closest peer, Cook Junior Elementary, McGowen has opened a significant gap in performance, indicating that the specific strategies implemented here—likely around the 2022-2023 school year—are yielding stronger results. For parents, McGowen offers a school that has proven it can overcome challenges, especially in math, but still has work to do in science and ensuring all student groups benefit from its progress.

386

Students ?

14.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,654

Per pupil spending ?

96.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

6820 Homestead Rd
Houston, TX 77028-5045

(713) 636-6979

District: Houston Independent School District (Isd)

Students who attend McGowen Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Key Middle
High:	Kashmere High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

60.6%

Hispanic:

38.1%

White:

0.5%

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Compare McGowen Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 2nd percentile in 2016 → 46th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 44 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Texas average (45% vs 51% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Reading scores 11 pts below the Texas average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school45%

District avg51%

Texas avg51%

2,496^th of 4,627

Texas public elementary schools ?

Bottom 46%▲ up 44 pts since 2016

From bottom 2% (2016) to bottom 46% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Texas Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

86^th of 170Elementary Schools in the Houston Independent School District (Isd)

438^th of 951Houston 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
2026	43.3	2496 of 4627	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	34.0	3189 of 4651	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.1	3639 of 4710	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.3	4309 of 4647	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.3	4142 of 4581	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.5	4415 of 4578	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	18.6	3992 of 4479	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.8	4112 of 4359	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	6.3	4286 of 4329	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	4.8	4195 of 4286	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	9.9	4130 of 4320	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	3.0	4238 of 4260	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	3.0	4191 of 4221	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	11.7	4064 of 4206	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	59.3	1859 of 4095	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2010	50.5	2316 of 3937	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	42.7	2613 of 3884	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2008	18.8	3454 of 3768	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	29.2	3096 of 3724	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	20.8	3138 of 3476	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	21.0	3141 of 3475	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	19.2	3195 of 3465	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	56.9	843 of 2406	65.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.2	1374 of 2443	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.4	1873 of 2443	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	32.4	1789 of 2421	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	26.9	1989 of 2444	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	40.6	1540 of 2515	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.4	1692 of 2483	31.9%	★★☆☆☆

At Risk

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2022	24.7	3813 of 4461	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.8	3376 of 4331	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.0	3258 of 4295	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.6	3811 of 4240	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2024	40.0	2219 of 3668	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	21.1	3202 of 3556	10.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	30.2	2756 of 3487	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.1	3151 of 3446	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	26.2	2856 of 3333	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.0	2805 of 3226	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	47.5	2254 of 4575	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	37.1	3019 of 4658	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	16.7	4192 of 4588	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.5	3981 of 4561	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.3	4137 of 4499	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.1	4006 of 4348	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	23.2	3664 of 4306	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	47.7	2092 of 3075	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	1.4	2963 of 2980	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	0.1	3182 of 3184	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	50.8	2026 of 4413	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	41.5	2685 of 4465	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	17.9	4040 of 4401	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.6	3834 of 4376	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.3	4212 of 4329	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.2	3668 of 4188	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.4	3983 of 4168	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	56.2	1698 of 4520	62.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.9	2915 of 4594	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	20.4	4078 of 4521	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.0	3899 of 4477	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.7	4209 of 4451	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.5	3606 of 4309	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.4	3908 of 4264	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	39.2	2813 of 4582	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.6	3471 of 4647	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.8	4245 of 4585	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.8	4142 of 4563	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.3	4385 of 4498	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.8	3547 of 4357	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	7.2	4269 of 4319	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Texas percentile	Rating
2026	27.4	3558 of 4301	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	49.6	1664 of 4086	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	33.1	2553 of 3799	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	73.3	476 of 3684	87.1%	★★★★☆
2018	19.9	3294 of 3558	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2026)65th percentile+19 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)62nd percentile+16 vs school

Hispanic (2026)54th percentile+8 vs school

Female (2026)51st percentile+5 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)40th percentile+17 vs school

Male (2026)39th percentile-7 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)32nd percentile-14 vs school

Special Education (2026)17th percentile-29 vs school

At Risk (2022)15th percentile+5 vs school

By subject vs Texas (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics47%~ state avg

Reading43%-11 vs state

★

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Schools Near McGowen Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				STAAR Spanish Reading (2026)			STAAR Spanish Mathematics (2026)			STAAR Reading (2026)						STAAR Mathematics (2026)						STAAR Social Studies (2026)	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 (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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 Spanish Mathematics 5th Grade	STAAR Reading 3rd Grade	STAAR Reading 4th Grade	STAAR Reading 5th Grade	STAAR Reading 6th Grade	STAAR Reading 7th Grade	STAAR Reading 8th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	STAAR Mathematics 4th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 5th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 6th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 7th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 8th Grade	STAAR Social Studies 8th Grade	Total
McGowen Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6820 Homestead Rd	Houston	77028	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 636-6979	386	26	14.8	96.9%	2 (0.5%)	234 (60.6%)	147 (38.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	43.3	2496^th of 4627 public elementary schools	46.1%		34	3189^th of 4651 public elementary schools	31.4%	693							23.8	44.6	58.3				23.8	50.0	64.6					$18,654
Cook Junior Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	7115 Lockwood	Houston	77016	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 636-6040	453	30	15.2	98.0%	7 (1.5%)	205 (45.3%)	234 (51.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.1%)	28.3	3538^th of 4627 public elementary schools	23.5%		19.9	4032^nd of 4651 public elementary schools	13.3%	494	25.0	27.3	40.0	68.2			41.4	42.5	47.1				34.9	35.4	30.9					$16,931
Kashmere Gardens Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4901 Lockwood Dr	Houston	77026	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 671-4160	329	23	14.3	98.5%	1 (0.3%)	272 (82.7%)	54 (16.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	32	3295^th of 4627 public elementary schools	28.8%		30.7	3385^th of 4651 public elementary schools	27.2%	90							34.2	43.9	41.2				35.1	51.2	33.3					$18,917
Elmore Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	8200 Tate St	Houston	77028	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 672-7466	443	32	13.7	98.2%	11 (2.5%)	206 (46.5%)	219 (49.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.6%)	15.8	4252^nd of 4627 public elementary schools	8.1%		16.2	4219^th of 4651 public elementary schools	9.3%	33	41.7	22.2		35.7	23.5		30.2	38.7	37.5				21.2	31.5	26.2					$14,170
Isaacs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3830 Pickfair St	Houston	77026	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 671-4120	241	19	12.6	98.8%	5 (2.1%)	70 (29.0%)	164 (68.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	22.6	3899^th of 4627 public elementary schools	15.7%		27	3606^th of 4651 public elementary schools	22.5%	293	0.0			33.3			41.9	36.4	42.9				33.3	30.3	26.7					$17,166
Shadydale Elementary	Public	K-5	5905 Tidwell Rd	Houston	77016	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 633-5150	576	39	14.8	96.5%	3 (0.5%)	314 (54.5%)	252 (43.8%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	21.7	3952^nd of 4627 public elementary schools	14.6%		33	3251^st of 4651 public elementary schools	30.1%	701	4.4	17.7	16.7	17.9	20.0	0.0	33.3	43.7	47.8				15.1	36.0	28.3					$12,669
Eastex-Jensen Neighborhood School	Public, Charter	PK-K	6915 Curry Rd	Houston	77093	Harris County	Texas College Preparatory Academies	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(281) 671-4931	48	4	11.3	95.8%	5 (10.4%)	20 (41.7%)	23 (47.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																				$11,605
Hilliard Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	8115 E Houston Rd	Houston	77028	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 635-3085	545	37	14.8	98.7%	5 (0.9%)	379 (69.5%)	147 (27.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.8%)	24.2	3797^th of 4627 public elementary schools	17.9%		25	3724^th of 4651 public elementary schools	19.9%	73							47.8	30.8	48.6				29.9	16.7	37.1					$14,128
Roderick R Paige Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7501 Curry Rd	Houston	77093	Harris County	Houston Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 696-2855	393	27	14.5	97.2%	2 (0.5%)	163 (41.5%)	227 (57.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	40.5	2710^th of 4627 public elementary schools	41.4%		21.5	3943^rd of 4651 public elementary schools	15.2%	1233	9.1	0.0	40.0	10.0			41.0	54.2	55.3				14.6	56.0	33.3					$17,097
The Varnett School - Northeast	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	8305 Mesa Dr	Houston	77028	Harris County	The Varnett Public School	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(713) 631-4396	354	22	15.9	99.2%	0 (0.0%)	94 (26.6%)	256 (72.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.1%)	30.1	3420^th of 4627 public elementary schools	26.1%		24.4	3768^th of 4651 public elementary schools	19.0%	348							41.2	26.5	53.9	61.5	44.7	45.2	35.3	8.8	18.0	46.2	39.5	29.0	9.7	$11,873

Frequently Asked Questions about McGowen Elementary

What schools do graduates of McGowen Elementary attend?

Students who attend McGowen Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Key Middle
High : Kashmere High School

How many students attend McGowen Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 386 students attended McGowen Elementary.

What district is McGowen Elementary in?

Houston Independent School District (Isd)

Is McGowen Elementary a good school?

McGowen Elementary ranks 2496^th of 4627 Texas elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of McGowen Elementary?

Students at McGowen Elementary are 61% African American, 38% Hispanic.

Rate McGowen 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.