Universal Academy, Irving TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Universal Academy

Universal Academy is a PreK-12 charter school located in Irving, Texas, serving a student body of around six hundred. The school operates as its own district and has distinguished itself through adoption of the Cambridge Assessment International Education curriculum, making it the only public or charter school in Texas licensed to offer Cambridge programs. That curriculum emphasizes critical thinking and is recognized by universities and employers internationally. The district has expanded to include a Bartonville campus that opened in 2024, introducing a farm-to-market agriculture program with horsemanship and therapeutic horsemanship components tied into the Cambridge framework. For families drawn to an explicitly international, academically rigorous approach with distinctive pathways beyond traditional academics, this represents a substantive pedagogical commitment.

The school's enrollment is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. This is a school serving a community with significant economic need. The school includes all grade bands under one roof, from pre-K through grade 12, which shapes its operational structure and how families experience continuity or transitions within the institution.

On state testing, Universal Academy's results show uneven performance across subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency rates range from around a third in the elementary grades to near to above midrange in middle grades, with the strongest showing in grades 7 and 8. In mathematics, the school is weaker in lower elementary and middle grades, with only a small minority meeting proficiency in grade 3 and around a third in grade 6, though grade 7 shows a jump to around three-fifths proficient. Science and social studies proficiency are notably lower, with science at grade 8 at around a fifth proficient and social studies at grade 8 near a tenth proficient. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it above the midpoint among Dallas County districts, but the variation by subject and grade level is worth a parent's careful review. The school's testing data comes from a single year, so trend information is not available. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly regarding the weaker performance areas and whether supports or curriculum adjustments are underway.

The school's program offerings explicitly include band for the arts. Beyond that, the data provided does not detail other course offerings, AP programs, dual-credit pathways, or support services, so families should contact the school directly to understand the full scope of academic and cocurricular options available across the grade bands.

The Irving area where the school sits has median home values and rental costs that reflect a typical suburban market, with the local economy showing an unemployment rate and median household income broadly consistent with national conditions. The housing market has experienced modest softening. For families considering the school, the geographic placement in Irving means proximity to that economic and housing context.

Universal Academy represents a specific educational choice: a charter school with an internationally recognized curriculum framework, serving a diverse, economically challenged population, still finding its footing on standardized measures in several subject areas. Families drawn to the Cambridge model and its emphasis on critical thinking, or interested in the agricultural pathway at the Bartonville campus, will find a school structured around those distinctive commitments. Families prioritizing strong, consistent results across all tested subjects may want to consider where and how those results have been trending before committing.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 21 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,779 schools plotted. 59 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 322%

School 22% · district not reported

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 57% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 64% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 57% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · district not reported

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 63% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 66% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 73% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Science

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 44% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 22% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

This schoolUNIVERSAL ACADEMY, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income62%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income33%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income58%Higher-income46%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income54%Higher-income60%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income20%Higher-income31%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income31%Higher-income25%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income58%Higher-income54%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income47%9 pp gap