Speer El, Arlington TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Speer El

Speer Elementary serves prekindergarten through sixth grade in Arlington, a mid-sized city in Tarrant County. The school has an enrollment of roughly mid-size for its grade band, with students distributed fairly evenly across the primary and elementary grades.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a very substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. This composition reflects the neighborhood the school serves.

On state assessments administered in early 2025, Speer's results show consistent challenges across tested subjects and grade levels. In math, proficiency rates range from low across grades three through six, with the highest rate in grade four and the lowest in grades five and six. In English language arts, performance is similarly low, with rates below where most schools would aim, particularly in the lower elementary grades where Spanish-language testing was used. In the one science assessment administered to fifth graders, proficiency was very low. Across all subjects, fewer than one in three students met or exceeded the state standard; roughly half approached proficiency, and very few mastered grade-level content. These results place the school in the bottom quartile relative to other district schools in Tarrant County on overall proficiency.

A parent may want to look into further what instructional changes the school and district are making in response to these results. Arlington ISD recently adopted new state-aligned math instructional materials districtwide, which will shape how math is taught across the elementary grades. The district has also made universal pre-K available free to all four-year-olds, which may be relevant for families with younger children.

The Arlington area housing market shows modest home values and rents, with home values declining slightly year over year. The local unemployment rate is moderate, and median household income is solid. The district is experiencing enrollment decline, which has already led to school closures; families may want to understand how this shapes attendance zones and staffing at individual schools over time.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 16% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 13% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 17% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 36% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 20% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 42% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 47% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 47% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 6%

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

This schoolARLINGTON ISD, 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-income16%Higher-income50%34 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income29%Higher-income33%4 pp gap