Summary:
There are three elementary schools serving grades PK-5 in zip code 78202 in San Antonio, Texas, an area where families face significant socioeconomic challenges, with all schools reporting very high rates of economic disadvantage.
For parents, the standout school is Idea Carver Academy, a charter school in the Idea Public Schools district, which is the clear academic leader. It is the only school to have earned a 3-star rating and consistently outperforms the other two schools in Reading and Math, though it also serves a less economically disadvantaged population (77.56% vs. over 96% at the other schools). In contrast, Bowden Academy in the San Antonio Independent School District (Isd) is the lowest-performing school, ranking in the 2nd percentile statewide with critically low test scores, yet it has a unique bright spot in Algebra I where 72.73% of students were proficient. Washington Elementary, also in SAISD, is the most consistent underdog, maintaining a 1-star rating and outperforming Bowden Academy in core subjects despite having the highest economic disadvantage rate at 99.21%.
A key takeaway is that spending does not equal success: Bowden Academy has the highest per-student spending ($13,884) and lowest student-teacher ratio (15.7:1) but the worst performance, while Idea Carver Academy has the lowest spending ($8,796) and highest ratio (21:1) but the best results. Additionally, Bowden Academy's bilingual program shows promise, with Spanish Math proficiency at 80% for 4th graders, and science proficiency is alarmingly low across all three schools, with 5th-grade scores ranging from 0% to 35.45%, indicating a critical area of need for the entire zip code.
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