Escondido Elementary

Escondido Elementary in Converse, TX, is a PK-5 school within the Judson Independent School District (Isd) serving 833 students, with a predominantly low-income population and a state ranking that has historically placed it in the bottom quintile of Texas elementary schools.

The school’s most notable strength is its exceptional recent turnaround with English Language Learners (ELL), who jumped from the 6th percentile statewide in 2023-2024 to the 60th percentile in 2025-2026—a dramatic improvement not seen at nearby schools like Copperfield Elementary or Converse Elementary. However, Escondido faces significant challenges, including a persistent gender achievement gap where female students rank in the 33rd percentile while male students rank in the 10th percentile—the largest disparity in the area. Math proficiency is critically low across all grades, with only 18.95% of 5th graders proficient in 2024-2025, the lowest among nearby schools, and 5th-grade science proficiency sits at just 12.63%, compared to the state average of 29.57%. The school also spends more per student ($9,274) than most district peers, yet this investment hasn't translated into higher overall test scores.

Compared to the nearest competitor, Idea Converse Academy (0.6 miles away), Escondido lags in reading and science, though it has shown the capacity for dramatic improvement in one area. The key question for administrators is whether the strategies that fueled the ELL success can be replicated to address persistent weaknesses in math and the performance of male students, as the school’s inconsistent performance across grade levels suggests student success may depend heavily on individual classroom environments rather than a consistent school-wide approach.