Summary:
This analysis examines three elementary schools serving grades PK-5 in the 78728 zip code of Austin, Texas, split between the Round Rock Independent School District (Isd) and the Pflugerville Independent School District (Isd).
Joe Lee Johnson Elementary stands out as the highest-performing school academically, achieving a 42nd percentile state ranking and showing the most improvement by jumping 23 percentile points in one year. In contrast, Northwest Elementary has the lowest ranking at the 8th percentile despite spending the most per student ($14,232). Wells Branch Elementary offers the best student-to-teacher ratio at 11.8:1 and leads in 3rd Grade Reading proficiency at 52.27%. A clear "resource paradox" emerges: Northwest spends the most but performs the worst, while Joe Lee Johnson spends the least but performs the best, suggesting that higher poverty rates (82.53% at Northwest) require more resources just to maintain operations.
Key takeaways include a universal weakness in 5th Grade Science, where only Wells Branch (29.41%) matches the state average, while Joe Lee Johnson (13.91%) and Northwest (10.20%) fall far behind. Additionally, students taking the STAAR test in Spanish across all schools show significantly lower proficiency, particularly in math, indicating a need for enhanced bilingual support. The two schools in the higher-rated Round Rock ISD (4-star district) consistently outperform Northwest in the lower-rated Pflugerville ISD (2-star district), highlighting the strong influence of district quality on individual school outcomes.
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