Summary:
This analysis examines five elementary schools in Houston's 77023 zip code, serving Pre-K through 4th or 5th grade, where all schools have a free/reduced lunch rate above 75%, indicating a high-poverty area.
The standout school in this area is Cage Elementary, which earns a 4-star rating and ranks in the top 26% of Texas elementary schools. Despite an 89% economic disadvantage rate, Cage achieves exceptional results with a low student-teacher ratio of 12.3:1, the smallest in the area. In 2025-2026, 77.78% of its 3rd graders were proficient in Reading, and 73.33% of 4th graders were proficient in Math, far exceeding district and state averages. Cage also excels in bilingual education, with 77.42% of 3rd graders taking the Math STAAR in Spanish achieving proficiency, compared to just 27.95% statewide. Henderson J Elementary also performs well, earning a 4-star rating and ranking in the 82nd percentile. In contrast, KIPP Explore Academy, the only charter school in the zip code, is the largest with 756 students but ranks in the 33rd percentile, with a high student-teacher ratio of 20.5:1. Carrillo Elementary ranks lowest at the 28th percentile, with only 30.43% of 3rd graders proficient in Reading.
A key finding is the volatility of school rankings. Lantrip Elementary dropped from the 80th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 29th percentile in 2024-2025, then rebounded to the 62nd percentile in 2025-2026, showing the importance of multi-year trends. Per-student spending varies from $9,516 at KIPP Explore to $11,465 at Carrillo, but spending alone does not predict success, as both low and high spenders struggle academically. The data suggests that smaller class sizes and effective bilingual programs, as seen at Cage and Henderson J, are more impactful than school type or spending levels in this area.
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