Norman-sims El, Austin TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Norman-sims El

Norman-Sims Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in an East Austin location. The school draws a largely economically disadvantaged population, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is roughly evenly split between Hispanic and Black students, with smaller shares of Asian, white, and multiracial students. The enrollment is small for an elementary school.

State testing data from 2024-25 shows persistently low proficiency across subjects and grades. In English language arts, third and fourth grade English-assessed students show proficiency rates in the low teens and low forties respectively, while fifth grade Spanish-assessed students reach the low forties. In math, the pattern is similar: third and fourth graders assessed in English show proficiency rates around the mid-to-low teens, though the sample size for fifth grade Spanish-assessed students is extremely small. In science, fifth grade proficiency sits in the single digits. Across all tested subjects, the school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint when compared against districts across Travis County. A parent may want to look into further what the school's instruction and intervention plans are to support students toward stronger outcomes.

The school operates within Austin ISD, which has recently undergone major shifts. In November 2024 voters approved a property tax increase, raising the tax rate to support staff raises and help close a large budget deficit. More significantly, in November 2025 the board approved a consolidation plan closing ten schools before the 2026-27 school year, reassigning thousands of students and eliminating empty seats in response to a decade of enrollment decline. The plan includes 24 state-mandated turnaround efforts and relocates several dual language programs. Families in the district should expect that attendance boundaries, school assignments, and program locations may shift. Additionally, a bond measure from November 2022, the largest school bond package in Central Texas history, is funding district-wide facility modernizations and rebuilds across many campuses, so facility upgrades may become visible at Norman-Sims or nearby schools as the plan continues.

The school is located in Austin, a fast-growing metro with a strong technology and semiconductor economy. The housing market in the 78721 zip code shows median home values with a year-over-year decline, and rental prices have also declined modestly over the same period. The cost of renting remains somewhat more accessible than the cost of homeownership on income, though both represent meaningful shares of household spending. Austin as a whole is experiencing rapid population growth and substantial new housing construction, though office vacancy has climbed post-pandemic. The city's downtown and central neighborhoods are notably walkable, while suburban areas are car-oriented. Parks, transit, and civic anchors like the Central Library and Lady Bird Lake form part of daily life for many residents.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 9% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 416%

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

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

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 47% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 12% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 58% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 63% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 35% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

This schoolAUSTIN 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.