Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 76015

In zip code 76015 (Arlington, TX), there are two elementary schools, Foster Elementary and Short Elementary, both serving grades PK through 6 within the Arlington Independent School District (Isd), a district ranked in the 30th percentile statewide. These schools share very similar demographics, with a high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch (around 83-85%), nearly identical student-to-teacher ratios (about 12.7:1), and comparable per-student spending (approximately $10,375 to $10,914). Despite these similarities, a significant performance gap exists between the two schools.

Foster Elementary is the standout school in this area, consistently outperforming Short Elementary across nearly every academic metric. Foster ranks in the 29th percentile statewide, while Short ranks in the bottom 8th percentile—a gap of 21 percentile points. Foster has shown a slight upward trend in its ranking over the last three years, whereas Short has experienced a sharp decline. In the most recent school year, Foster’s average reading proficiency was 40.9% compared to Short’s 30.9%, and its average math proficiency was 38.8% versus Short’s 28.3%. Notably, Foster outperforms Short in 14 out of 18 individual test score comparisons across the last two school years.

Several interesting findings emerge from the data. Foster Elementary shows a "6th Grade Bounce," where 6th graders scored significantly higher than lower grades in both reading and math, suggesting a strong teaching team or effective intervention program for older students. Additionally, Foster’s Spanish reading test scores for 3rd graders are consistently higher than English scores, indicating an effective bilingual program. A critical concern for both schools is alarmingly low 5th-grade science proficiency, with Foster at 0% and Short at 7.55%, pointing to a systemic issue in science education. Finally, despite Short spending $539 more per student, its academic outcomes are dramatically worse, suggesting the performance gap is driven by factors like instructional quality or school culture rather than funding.