Summary:
Zip code 75166 (Lavon, TX) is home to two elementary schools, Mary Lou Dodson Elementary and Nesmith Elementary, both serving grades PK-5 within the Community Independent School District (ISD).
Mary Lou Dodson Elementary is the standout school in the area, consistently outperforming Nesmith Elementary in state rankings and academic performance. For the 2025-2026 school year, Mary Lou Dodson ranked in the 55th percentile (3 stars) compared to Nesmith’s 25th percentile (1 star). It also has a larger enrollment (626 students vs. 511) and achieves higher average proficiency across core subjects (45.3% vs. 38.5%). Notably, Mary Lou Dodson accomplishes this despite having a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students (58.95% free/reduced lunch) than Nesmith (49.9%), suggesting strong teaching quality or school leadership. However, both schools share a critical weakness in 5th Grade Mathematics, scoring well below the state average (47.38%) with Mary Lou Dodson at 35% and Nesmith at 32.61% in 2025-2026. Science is also a universal challenge, with both schools trailing the state average of 29.57% in 5th Grade Science for 2024-2025.
While both schools have seen declining state rankings since 2023-2024, Nesmith is losing ground at a faster rate, dropping 17 percentile points compared to Mary Lou Dodson’s 7-point drop. Interestingly, Nesmith has a slightly lower student-teacher ratio (15.4:1 vs. 16.6:1) and reported spending of $10,411 per student, yet its outcomes are lower, indicating that resource allocation alone does not guarantee success. For parents, Mary Lou Dodson is the stronger choice, but both schools would benefit from district-wide intervention in math and science education.
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