Summary:
Zip code 79903 in El Paso, Texas, is home to two elementary schools, Coldwell Elementary and Hillside Elementary, both part of the El Paso Independent School District (ISD), serving grades PK through 5 with a combined enrollment of about 702 students. The area is characterized by high economic disadvantage, with nearly 88% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, yet the two schools show distinct academic profiles.
Coldwell Elementary stands out as the more consistently high-performing school, achieving a 72nd percentile state rank in 2023-2024 and maintaining a 56th percentile rank in 2025-2026, compared to Hillside Elementary's 40th percentile. Coldwell also shows steadier proficiency in Reading and Math, often meeting or exceeding district averages, while Hillside exhibits more volatility, with dramatic swings in scores like 4th-grade Reading dropping from 71.43% to 30.61% in one year. However, Hillside excels in its bilingual (Spanish) program, where 5th graders achieved 87.5% proficiency in Math and 77.78% in Reading on Spanish-language STAAR tests, far surpassing state averages of 22.32% and 34.82%, respectively.
Key metrics reveal that despite similar spending per student ($12,215 at Coldwell vs. $12,267 at Hillside) and student-teacher ratios (13.5 vs. 11.3), Coldwell generally outperforms Hillside in overall academics, with average Reading proficiency of 50.64% and Math of 48.03% in 2025-2026, versus Hillside's 48.92% and 39.65%. The ranking data shows a narrowing gap: Coldwell led by 15 percentile points in 2023-2024, but Hillside actually ranked higher in 2024-2025 (54th vs. 52nd). This suggests a dynamic environment where Coldwell offers more stability, while Hillside's bilingual program provides exceptional results for Spanish-speaking students, making each school a strong choice depending on a family's priorities.
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