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After researching the best elementary schools in Dallas we now have the concrete proof just how great they are. For our first ranking in our school district series, we’ll show you how we calculated the Texas Education Agency’s metrics from the most recent report (2014) to rank each school that met their standards. While the TEA Index is pretty comprehensive, Frog Tutoring decided to evaluate a couple additional factors in the study we found. The following methodology was used in calculation:
- SAT Factor (24%): The SAT was taken into consideration for this ranking out of a possible score of 2400, since the most recent statistics are from 2014 when the SAT was in it’s old format.
- STAAR Expectations (22%): When taking the STAAR test into consideration, we look at the percentage of students who met or exceeded the expectations of the test in a given year.
- TEA Index (22%): We utilized the Texas Education Agency’s 4 areas of academic excellence, which consist of Student Achievement, Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness.
- AP Test Factor (18%): We wanted to include the percentage of students that made a score of at least a 3 or better on one or more AP test. We thought this was important to include in regards to college readiness.
- Graduation Rate (10%): Graduation rate was taken into consideration for the purposes of measuring student achievement and postsecondary readiness.
- Class Size (2%): Student-to-teacher ratio is important for an individual’s learning, so we took this into consideration.
- Online Reviews (2%): We have weighted each school’s popularity score based on Facebook reviews, Greatschools.org reviews, and K12.Niche.org reviews.
If you’d like to see a more in-depth look at the TEA’s metrics for accountability standards, please click here. To determine a definitive ranking for the top elementary schools in Dallas, we combined these 7 factors to create one number to compare and contrast the success of each elementary school.
Let’s dive in to the list of the 5 best elementary schools in Dallas!
1. Lakewood Elementary
Our first school on the list is Lakewood Elementary that has a student body of 841. Lakewood has the highest performance on the STAAR test with 78% of students meeting or exceeding STAAR standards. Class sizes are slightly above the state average (17 students) with 19 students on average in each classroom. Lakewood is nestled in the Lakewood neighborhood in north Dallas near White Rock Lake. As you can see, it has a long list of impressive accomplishments.
2. Stonewall Jackson Elementary
You don’t have to travel far to get to our second school on the list, Stonewall Jackson Elementary. A high rating of 72% of its student body meets or exceeds the expectations for the STAAR test, and is one of the reasons that Stonewall Jackson Elementary is one of the highest ranked public schools in Dallas. There is a class size average of 16 students per class, which gives many students a more inclusive educational setting.
3. George Bannerman Dealey Montessori
George Bannerman Dealey is an elementary school name that also comes with a long list of accomplishments. It has earned distinctions in Reading/ELA and Postsecondary Readiness to name a few. The school is also on par with our second school on the list with STAAR expectations met or exceeded with 72% of students.
4. Harry C Withers Elementary
Our fourth school on our list has the second highest STAAR expectations met or exceeded in our research with 76%. Harry C Withers Elementary also has a nice class size of 17 students that gives each individual a chance to get the attention they need. The school has also scored very high in the Texas Education Agency’s ratings, and has earned distinctions in Top 25% Student Progress and Top 25% Closing Perform Gaps.
5. J P Starks Elementary
J P Starks Elementary is the 5th highest-performing school in Dallas with distinctions in Science, Reading/ELA, and many more. The school has an impressive 75% of its students meeting or surpassing the standards of the STAAR test, and has a nice class size of 18 students on average. J P Starks Elementary is one of the highest performing elementary schools in the large district of Dallas ISD.
Frog Tutoring Dallas Tutors are proud to present the best elementary schools in Dallas based on statistics released by the Texas Education Agency. Please share in the comments any personal experience that you have had in the Dallas Independent School District!
Note: We wanted to take a second to explain our methodology, and how we arrived at factoring in each area of success for our rankings. First, we made an extensive spreadsheet (which you can take a look at for yourself here), and collected all of the data that we needed for our results. Then we converted each factor into a percentage and multiplied that number by the percentage of how much it’s worth in our ranking system. Let’s look at an example:
Woodrow Wilson High School’s TEA Index ranking is 235/400.
- 235 / 400 = 58.75%
- Since this is 22% of our total, we used the percentage above to measure how much it’s worth in our ranking system. Which in this case is 22% of the total score.
- 58.75 x .22 = 12.93%
If you’d like to know more about this process, please contact our coordinator, Judith, at [email protected].
