The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Harris El
Harris Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the North Austin neighborhood of the Wheless Lane corridor, within Austin ISD. The school enrolls a small cohort of students, the majority of whom come from Spanish-speaking households and qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at a very high rate. The racial and ethnic composition is heavily Hispanic, with smaller Black and white populations. The school sits within a rapidly growing, increasingly dense city where housing costs have climbed notably and rents remain elevated, though recent property values have edged down slightly year-over-year.
Academically, Harris Elementary shows substantial headwinds. State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year reveal proficiency rates well below what families encounter in typical Austin elementary schools. In English language arts, fourth grade performed most strongly, but even that cohort reached proficiency at a rate significantly below the midpoint among Travis County district schools. Third and fifth grade ELA proficiency was markedly lower. Mathematics results track even more steeply downward: fourth grade math proficiency sat roughly in the lower half of county schools, while third and fifth grade Spanish-medium math testing showed zero proficiency. Fifth grade science testing also returned zero proficiency across the cohort tested. When proficiency is averaged across all tested subjects and grades, Harris sits in the bottom quartile among county district schools. The data does not yet include prior-year trend information, so it is unclear whether this represents a decline, a baseline for the school, or early movement in response to intervention.
The tested grade bands here are narrow. Third, fourth, and fifth graders take state assessments; kindergarten through second grade results do not appear because Texas does not administer standardized tests at those levels. This is typical for elementary schools statewide, so the absence of early-grade data reflects state policy rather than any gap in the school's coverage.
Harris is part of Austin ISD, a large urban district that has been navigating significant structural changes. In late 2025 the board approved a consolidation plan closing ten schools districtwide by the 2026-27 school year as enrollment has declined over the past decade and budgets have tightened. Harris Elementary is not on the closure list, but the district context includes new turnaround mandates at multiple schools, a major property tax increase approved in November 2024 to fund staff raises and offset deficit spending, and a capital bond program that has already rebuilt or modernized several campuses. Families should stay informed about any future attendance boundary shifts or program relocations that may ripple from these changes.
The immediate neighborhood around Harris reflects the demographic profile of the school: predominantly Hispanic, low-income, and increasingly dense as Austin's rapid metro growth reshapes North Austin. Housing in the school's zip code sits at moderate valuations, though well below the steep prices closer to downtown or west Austin, and rents have ticked slightly upward. The area remains more affordable than much of Austin proper, a trade-off for being farther from the central business district and its cultural anchors.
For families considering this school, the central question is academic support. Harris's test outcomes indicate a student body facing real barriers to proficiency, whether rooted in early literacy gaps, language transitions, family mobility, or resource constraints within the school itself. A parent should directly ask the school and district what tutoring, intervention, and English learner support are in place; what the school's literacy curriculum emphasizes; what professional development teachers have received in reading instruction; and whether there is a clear, measurable plan to move proficiency upward. The data on its own does not explain why performance is where it is, but it is clear that families enrolling here need to understand what targeted help the school is providing and what supplemental support they might need to supply at home.
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