Summary:
This analysis examines five elementary schools in the 77064 zip code of Houston, Texas, serving grades PK through 5 and all part of the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District (Isd), an area characterized by high economic disadvantage where the average free/reduced lunch rate is 79.27%.
Gleason Elementary is the clear academic leader, earning a 4-star rating (75th percentile) and consistently exceeding state averages in Mathematics and Reading, despite having the lowest per-student spending ($9,299) and highest student-teacher ratio (16.9:1). In contrast, Francone Elementary and Frazier Elementary are the lowest-performing schools, both with 1-star ratings and over 89% economic disadvantage, with STAAR scores consistently below district and state averages. Bang Elementary and Willbern Elementary represent the middle tier with 3-star ratings, showing competitive Reading scores but significant weakness in 3rd-grade Math, where only about 33% of students are proficient compared to the state average of 44.33%.
A striking finding is that spending does not correlate with performance: Frazier has the highest per-student spending ($12,785) and lowest student-teacher ratio (11.5:1) yet struggles academically, while Gleason excels with fewer resources. Mathematics is a universal weakness across all schools except Gleason, though 5th-grade Science is a bright spot for Willbern (41.5% proficient) and Gleason (39.6%), both exceeding the state average of 29.57%. The wide performance gap between Gleason (75th percentile) and Francone (28th percentile) highlights the challenge of ensuring equitable outcomes within the same district.
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