The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in English language arts. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kocurek El
Kocurek Elementary sits in a growing residential corner of southeast Austin, serving a school-age population that is predominantly Hispanic and with a substantial share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The school draws on an enrollment typical for an early-elementary campus in its grade band, with a balanced distribution across pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.
On state assessments, the school's proficiency picture is uneven. In grade five English language arts, students performed notably better, with about two-thirds meeting or exceeding state standards. Fifth-grade math showed proficiency below that threshold. Grade three results, the other large tested cohort, fell well below the grade-five performance in both English language arts and math. A very small group of students took Spanish-language assessments in grades three through five, and their results were substantially lower, though the group size makes those trends hard to interpret as a school-wide signal.
Across all tested grades and subjects combined, the school's overall proficiency index sits slightly above the midpoint among districts in Travis County, a modest position that reflects both the stronger grade-five English showing and the strain elsewhere. Proficiency at the "meets" level, the middle of Texas's four-tier scale, runs around about two in five students across the school. The "approaches" level, meaning students are partway to grade-level competency, catches the majority; relatively few students reach the "masters" level.
The school is part of Austin Independent School District, which faces substantial structural pressures. The district approved a major property tax increase in November 2024 to fund staff raises and help pay down a large deficit, which may be relevant if families are comparing housing costs. More consequentially for Kocurek's future enrollment and peer groups, the district is closing ten schools before the 2026-27 school year due to a decade of declining enrollment districtwide. Kocurek was not named among the closure list, but families should understand that the district is in active consolidation and that attendance boundaries and program locations are being redrawn. The district did approve multiple turnaround plans to address lower-performing schools, a signal of ongoing academic improvement work, though which schools those encompass was not specified in available data.
Austin itself is adding residents and housing at a rapid rate, particularly apartment development, though that growth is concentrated in some areas more than others. The housing market in the school's zip code has shown recent price decline. Early-elementary facilities have historically been less likely targets for major reinvestment than middle and high schools, though the district's 2022 bond package did fund rebuilds at several elementary schools; whether Kocurek was among the beneficiaries is not clear from the available information.
The school has not been flagged for special low-enrollment or low-performance interventions, and its enrollment remains stable. A parent considering Kocurek should understand that proficiency is below what many Austin families see at higher-performing elementary schools in the district, and that the uneven grade-level results suggest different learning trajectories within the same building. That said, the grade-five English result indicates students can reach stronger performance by that age, which may point to how instruction or support shifts over the course of elementary. The school is a regular public school with typical neighborhood-based assignment rather than a magnet or choice program, making it a community school for families in its area. Given the district's consolidation context, families should confirm with the school how attendance zones may shift and whether dual language programs or other pathways are planned for this campus.
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