Highland Lakes Elementary

Highland Lakes Elementary in Granite Shoals, TX, serves students from Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade and is part of the Marble Falls Independent School District (Isd), a district that ranks in the 38th percentile statewide.

This school faces significant challenges, with over 90% of its students qualifying for free or reduced lunch—the highest rate of economic disadvantage among nearby schools. For context, Colt Elementary has a rate of 58.39%, and Spicewood Elementary sits at 44.52%. Despite spending a higher amount per student ($11,368) than many district peers, academic outcomes are inconsistent. The school has historically ranked in the bottom 20-30% of Texas elementary schools, with a recent ranking in the 22nd percentile. A notable bright spot is 3rd-grade Reading, where students achieved a 70.37% proficiency rate on the STAAR test, far exceeding the district (44.19%) and state (51.08%). However, this success does not carry into 4th and 5th grades, where scores drop significantly. For example, 5th-grade Science proficiency was just 7.32% in a recent year, compared to the state average of 29.57%.

Compared to Packsaddle Elementary, located just 5.3 miles away in Kingsland, Highland Lakes shows more dramatic swings in performance between grade levels. Packsaddle, which also has a high poverty rate (79.05%), demonstrates more consistent scores across subjects. For instance, Packsaddle's 5th-grade Science score (14.81%) was double that of Highland Lakes (7.32%). The school also struggles to serve its male students and those in special education, ranking in the 15th and 7th percentiles respectively, though it performs relatively better for female students (32nd percentile). This pattern suggests that while the school has pockets of success, particularly in early-grade Reading, it faces systemic challenges in maintaining academic progress through the upper grades.