The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in English language arts. The lowest is 4% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Padron El
Padron Elementary sits on West Rundberg Lane in north Austin, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of Austin ISD. The school is deeply rooted in the communities along that corridor, and its student body reflects that: the population is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school administers the STAAR in both English and Spanish versions depending on grade and subject, which tells you something about who it serves. A substantial share of students are likely emergent bilingual learners, though English learner counts were not available in the data provided.
On academic performance, the results from the most recent testing year are low and a parent should go in with clear eyes. Across all tested subjects and grade levels, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Travis County. In math, the share of third and fourth graders reaching the "meets grade level" standard was very small, and fifth graders fared somewhat better but still well below what Texas considers grade-level mastery. Reading and language arts results were similarly modest across tested grades. Fifth-grade science proficiency was especially thin, with nearly all students falling short of the standard. The STAAR uses three performance tiers: "approaches," "meets," and "masters." School-wide, roughly four in ten students reach the approaches threshold in math and ELA, but far fewer reach the "meets" level, and the "masters" tier is nearly empty across all subjects. Social studies results were particularly weak, with almost no students reaching even the "meets" bar. Only one year of data was available, so trend information does not yet exist.
These numbers warrant a conversation with the school. A parent would reasonably want to ask what tutoring, intervention, and bilingual support structures are in place, and what the school's turnaround plan looks like. That last point matters: Austin ISD's board approved a set of state-mandated turnaround plans in late 2025 alongside a broader district consolidation effort, and Padron is among the schools the district identified as requiring that level of structured intervention. The state can mandate turnaround plans when persistent low performance triggers a threshold; it does not automatically mean closure, but it does mean the district is operating under external accountability pressure at this campus.
The broader district picture has several moving parts. Voters approved a major bond package a few years ago funding facility modernizations and rebuilds across multiple campuses, though the data does not specify whether Padron is in line for that work. Voters also recently approved a tax rate increase to fund staff raises and address a significant budget deficit. And the board's consolidation plan, closing ten schools before the next school year, reassigns many students and relocates several dual language programs, with the stated goal of placing those programs closer to the communities they serve. Families at Padron should confirm directly with the district whether the school's attendance boundaries or program offerings will change.
The neighborhood along Rundberg has long been one of Austin's more economically challenged corridors, and the school's demographics mirror that. Home values in the surrounding zip code are modestly below the state median and have declined year over year, and rents have also softened, making the area more accessible than much of the city. Austin as a whole remains one of the country's fastest-growing large metros, with enormous job concentration in technology, state government, and higher education, but the economic weight of that growth has not landed evenly across all neighborhoods.
Padron is a neighborhood school for families in a specific part of Austin, serving a young, predominantly Spanish-speaking community. The academic challenges documented in state testing are real and should prompt direct inquiry with the school and the district. Program access details and staffing data were not available in the information provided.
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