Summary:
This analysis examines eight elementary schools in the Dallas, Texas zip code 75243, all part of the Richardson Independent School District (Isd), serving grades PK through 5th or 6th, and reveals a wide performance gap driven largely by economic factors.
The standout school in the area is Moss Haven Elementary, which is the only school to earn a 4-star rating and ranks in the 84th percentile statewide. It has the lowest percentage of students on free/reduced lunch (19.49%) and the smallest class sizes (12.7 students per teacher). In stark contrast, four schools—Skyview Elementary, Audelia Creek Elementary, Stults Road Elementary, and Aikin Elementary—consistently rank in the bottom 6% of Texas elementary schools, receiving 0 stars. Forest Lane Academy shows the most improvement, jumping from the 6th to the 19th percentile in one year despite having the highest poverty rate (94.88%). The magnet school, Hamilton Park Pacesetter Magnet, performs better than the lowest-ranked schools but still lags far behind Moss Haven, suggesting its specialized program does not fully overcome the challenges of its 70% free/reduced lunch population.
Key metrics highlight stark disparities: per-student spending ranges from $10,291 at Forestridge Elementary to $12,159 at Hamilton Park, yet higher spending does not guarantee better outcomes. Science is a universal weakness, with even Moss Haven achieving only 45.31% proficiency in 5th-grade science, while lower-performing schools see single-digit scores. Additionally, several schools administer the STAAR test in Spanish, and at Audelia Creek, students taking the Spanish reading test significantly outperform those taking the English version, indicating a strong bilingual program. Overall, the data shows that economic factors are the strongest predictor of academic success in this zip code, with Moss Haven standing as a clear outlier in an otherwise challenging environment.
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