Summary:
This analysis examines six elementary schools in the 76903 zip code of San Angelo, Texas, all part of the San Angelo Independent School District (Isd), serving grades PK through 5th and revealing stark performance and demographic contrasts within a single area.
Ft Concho Elementary is the clear standout, consistently ranking in the top 7% of Texas elementary schools with a 5-star rating and average proficiency rates exceeding 70%, while serving the lowest percentage of economically disadvantaged students (38.7% free/reduced lunch). Glenmore Elementary is a strong second-tier performer showing an upward trend, moving to the 70th percentile with solid math scores. In contrast, San Jacinto Elementary and Reagan Elementary face significant challenges, ranking in the 14th and 2nd percentiles respectively, with over 86% of students economically disadvantaged and proficiency rates often in the teens. Goliad Elementary and Bradford Elementary fall in the middle, with average proficiency around 32% and high disadvantage rates near 80-85%.
The most compelling finding is the "money doesn't buy success" paradox: the lowest-performing schools, San Jacinto ($11,053/student) and Reagan ($11,878/student), have the highest per-student spending, while the top performer, Ft Concho, has the lowest ($7,999). Economic disadvantage is the strongest correlate with performance, showing a near-perfect inverse relationship with test scores. Additionally, science is a universal weak point—even Glenmore's science proficiency (13.46%) is drastically lower than its math (72.09%) and reading (65.12%) scores. Smaller class sizes also don't guarantee better outcomes, as Reagan has the smallest ratio (10:1) but the lowest performance, while Ft Concho has the largest (17.8:1) and the highest performance.
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