Harmony Science Academy - Austin, Austin TX

Original Research by School Decision on Harmony Science Academy - Austin

Harmony Science Academy - Austin is a pre-K through eighth grade charter school operated under Harmony Public Schools - Central Texas, located on East Rundberg Lane in Austin. Its student body is predominantly Hispanic, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, making it one of the more economically concentrated schools in Austin's charter landscape. Enrollment across the grades runs roughly evenly distributed from kindergarten through eighth grade, with a pre-K cohort as well.

The STAAR results from the most recent school year tell a story that parents need to sit with carefully. Across grades three through seven in both math and ELA, proficiency rates are very low, typically in the range of one in ten to roughly one in five students reaching the standard. The exception is eighth grade, where math and ELA proficiency jumps sharply relative to the earlier grades, with well over half of tested eighth graders reaching proficiency in each. That contrast is striking and does not have a clean explanation in the available data. Science proficiency at fifth grade is extremely low, and eighth grade science sits below the statewide median. Social studies at eighth grade is also low. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Travis County. A parent would be well-served to ask the school directly about instructional programming, supports for students who are not yet meeting grade level, and what drives the eighth-grade pattern.

The school offers pre-K, which is worth noting for families with young children, and its charter status through Harmony Public Schools means it operates outside Austin ISD boundaries. Harmony publicly describes itself as having a STEM focus, and the name "Science Academy" reflects that orientation, though detailed program offerings, course access, and staffing data were not available in what we reviewed.

The housing market around the school's East Rundberg corridor reflects the broader Austin context. Home values in the surrounding zip code are below the national benchmark and have declined year-over-year, while rents have also dipped modestly. Austin overall is one of the fastest-growing large metros in the country, publicly reported to have recently crossed a significant population threshold and to lead the nation in apartment construction. Travis County has seen among the highest rates of housing unit growth of any county in the country. That growth puts real pressure on school systems citywide, though district-level strategic changes at Harmony Public Schools - Central Texas were not findable during our research, so we left that section out rather than guess.

Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate data were not applicable here: the school ends at eighth grade, so there is no graduation rate to report, and absenteeism figures were not available in what was provided. English learner and special education population data were also not reported.

What this school is, plainly, is a high-poverty pre-K through eight charter school with a science-oriented identity, sitting in a rapidly changing part of Austin, serving a student population that is overwhelmingly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged. Tested proficiency rates through seventh grade are low across subjects, and a parent considering enrollment, particularly for elementary or middle grades, would want to ask the school specific questions about academic support structures, what the eighth-grade results reflect in terms of student trajectories, and how the school approaches students who are significantly behind grade level.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 310%

School 10% · district not reported

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 54% · ▼ 41 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 56% · ▼ 48 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 617%

School 17% · District 44% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 16% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 55% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 313%

School 13% · District 58% · ▼ 45 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 57% · ▼ 43 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 67% · ▼ 45 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 49% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 52% · ▼ 31 pts below district

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

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 58% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 0% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 46% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 27% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

This schoolHARMONY PUBLIC SCHOOLS - CENTRAL TEXAS, 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 3Lower-income12%Higher-income22%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income15%Higher-income0%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income13%Higher-income33%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income17%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income67%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income11%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income14%Higher-income0%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income22%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income0%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income62%Higher-income67%5 pp gap