Best Public Schools in Zip Code 78681

The 11 public schools in zip code 78681, all part of the high-performing Round Rock Independent School District (Isd), serve students from elementary through high school in the Round Rock, Texas area, with a notable mix of top-tier and struggling campuses.

The standout schools in this area are Cactus Ranch Elementary, ranked in the top 1% of Texas elementary schools, and James Garland Walsh Middle, ranked in the top 5% of Texas middle schools. Great Oaks Elementary also consistently ranks in the top 5%, while Round Rock High School ranks in the top 8% of Texas high schools with a 99.1% graduation rate. In stark contrast, Bluebonnet Elementary ranks in the bottom 26% of Texas elementary schools, and Chisholm Trail Middle shows significantly lower performance than Walsh, with 7th-grade math proficiency at just 12.9%. A remarkable strength across the zip code is advanced math: every elementary school reports 100% proficiency for 6th graders taking the Algebra I exam, and Walsh Middle achieves 96.79% proficiency in Algebra I.

Key metrics reveal a strong correlation between socioeconomic factors and performance. Free/reduced lunch rates range from a low of 2.89% at Cactus Ranch to a high of 70.94% at Bluebonnet, and per-student spending varies from $7,629 at Cactus Ranch to $13,827 at Bluebonnet, showing that higher spending does not guarantee better results. Student-teacher ratios are generally favorable, from 10.6:1 at Deep Wood Elementary to 17.9:1 at Round Rock High. Old Town Elementary faces a unique challenge with a large population of English Language Learners, as indicated by low scores on Spanish-language STAAR tests. Overall, the top-tier schools like Cactus Ranch, Great Oaks, Walsh Middle, and Round Rock High have maintained their high rankings consistently over the past three years, while schools like Bluebonnet and Chisholm Trail highlight the performance gaps within this otherwise strong district.