Summary:
The five schools in Houston's 77028 zip code serve a community facing significant economic challenges, with four elementary schools and one high school all reporting free or reduced lunch rates above 96%. The area is served primarily by the Houston Independent School District (Isd), with one charter option, The Varnett School - Northeast, operating under its own district.
McGowen Elementary stands out as the strongest performer, showing remarkable improvement from the 23rd to the 46th percentile in state rankings over two years. It is the only school in the zip code where 5th-grade math proficiency (64.58%) exceeds both district and state averages. In stark contrast, Elmore Elementary ranks at the very bottom (8th percentile) despite serving a nearly identical student population with similar funding. Interestingly, Elmore's Spanish-language STAAR program is a bright spot, with 3rd-grade math proficiency in Spanish (55.56%) more than double the state average. Hilliard Elementary falls in the middle of the pack, while The Varnett School - Northeast shows inconsistent results, with strong 8th-grade reading scores but very low 4th-grade math proficiency (8.82%).
The most critical concern is Kashmere High School, which has a graduation rate of just 60.8%—far below the HISD average of 84.3%—and a dropout rate of 6.3%. Its English I reading proficiency (31.55%) is alarmingly low compared to the state average (55.43%), suggesting foundational literacy challenges that begin in elementary school. With an average student-teacher ratio of 14:1 and per-student spending of $10,869, the contrast between McGowen's upward trajectory and Elmore's decline highlights that school leadership and instructional quality, not just poverty or funding, drive outcomes in this community.
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