Summary:
This analysis examines eight elementary schools in the 75040 zip code of Garland, Texas, serving grades Pre-Kindergarten through 5th or 6th, and includes schools from the Garland Independent School District (Isd) and one public charter school from Harmony Public Schools - North Texas.
The standout school in this area is Kimberlin Academy For Excel, which is the only school to achieve a 5-star rating and ranks in the top 1% of all Texas elementary schools (99th percentile). Its academic performance in reading (89.8%) and math (83.0%) far exceeds all other schools. In contrast, Cooper Elementary faces the most challenges, with the lowest state ranking (31st percentile) and consistently low ratings. A notable improver is Shorehaven Elementary, which jumped from a 2-star to a 4-star rating in just two years, now ranking in the 80th percentile despite having the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students. The charter school, Harmony Science Academy - Garland, performs at a solid 3-star level (69th percentile) but is outperformed by two traditional public schools in the same zip code.
Key findings show a strong link between economic disadvantage and performance, with schools like Northlake Elementary (53rd percentile) and Weaver Elementary (47th percentile) scoring lower alongside higher poverty rates. Interestingly, higher spending does not guarantee better results, as the highest-spending schools (Shorehaven and Weaver) are among the lowest-performing, while Kimberlin spends less than average. Across all schools, 5th-grade science scores are a universal weakness, with even top-performing Kimberlin showing a significant drop in science proficiency (64.9%) compared to reading and math. Schools like Spring Creek Elementary (64th percentile) and Vernal Lister Elementary (64th percentile) offer middle-of-the-pack performance with moderate poverty rates.
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