Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 78227

This analysis examines 12 elementary schools serving Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade in the 78227 zip code of San Antonio, Texas, a high-poverty area where an average of 88.4% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, spread across five districts including Northside Independent School District (Isd), Southwest Independent School District (Isd), Edgewood Independent School District (Isd), Lighthouse Public Schools, and Jubilee Academies.

Sun Valley Elementary is the standout school in the area, earning a 3-star rating for two consecutive years and ranking in the 68th percentile statewide, with 5th-grade reading and math scores far exceeding district and state averages despite 77.92% of students being economically disadvantaged. In contrast, Passmore Elementary faces significant challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 10% with a 0-star rating and critically low test scores, such as only 5.77% of 5th graders proficient in math. Meadow Village Elementary shows the most improvement, jumping 18 percentile points from the 21st to 39th percentile, while Westwood Terrace Elementary demonstrates strong growth potential with 5th-grade math scores well above state averages. Notably, Lighthouse Elementary spends the most per student at $23,564 but ranks in the 11th percentile, proving that high spending does not guarantee high performance.

Key takeaways include a "5th Grade Bounce" pattern in several Northside ISD schools where upper-grade scores often exceed averages, and Spanish language testing emerges as a strength at schools like Sun Valley and Hull Elementary, where Spanish reading scores more than double state averages. However, science is a universal weakness across the zip code, with most schools scoring far below the state average of 29.57%. The two charter schools, Lighthouse Elementary and Jubilee Westwood, rank in the bottom 15% despite high spending and economic disadvantage rates, challenging the idea that charters inherently outperform traditional public schools in underserved communities.