Packsaddle Elementary

Packsaddle Elementary in Kingsland, TX, serves 630 students in grades PK-5 within the Llano Independent School District (Isd), and has historically ranked in the bottom quartile of Texas elementary schools, with nearly 80% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.

While Packsaddle faces significant challenges due to high poverty levels, it shows some surprising strengths. The school's Special Education program is a standout, performing at or above the state average (51st percentile), and male students actually outperform female students here—a reversal of typical trends. However, the most dramatic comparison is with its district counterpart, Llano Elementary, located just 15 miles away. Llano Elementary ranks in the 82nd percentile with a 58% free/reduced lunch rate, while Packsaddle sits at the 28th percentile. In 5th Grade Reading, Llano scores 77% proficient versus Packsaddle's 43%, and in 5th Grade Math, the gap is 71% to 45%. This suggests that while poverty is a factor, the district is capable of much higher performance when socioeconomic conditions are more favorable.

Compared to nearby schools in the Marble Falls Independent School District (Isd), Packsaddle is not an outlier—it performs similarly to Marble Falls Elementary (32nd percentile) and Highland Lakes Elementary (22nd percentile), though it is more stable than Highland Lakes, which dropped to the 8th percentile in 2024-2025. The school's biggest weakness is 5th Grade Science, where only 15% of students were proficient in 2024-2025, compared to the district average of 32%. Additionally, Hispanic and English Language Learner students are in crisis, ranking in the 10th and 5th percentiles respectively. On a positive note, the Gifted and Talented program showed a massive improvement, jumping from the 18th to the 47th percentile, indicating that targeted interventions for high-achieving students are beginning to work.