The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Math. The lowest is 29% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Norwood El
Norwood Elementary sits on Evelyn Lane in Burleson, a fast-growing Fort Worth suburb in northern Johnson County. It serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is part of Burleson ISD, a district that has organized its elementary campuses around a schools-of-choice model. That context matters here: Norwood carries a specific identity as the Norwood Environmental Science Academy, meaning families have actively chosen this campus over their neighborhood default by applying through a lottery. A relocating family should understand that enrollment is not automatic and that the environmental science theme shapes daily life at the school.
The student body is mid-sized for an elementary school serving this grade band. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a meaningful share by any measure. The school is predominantly white, with Hispanic students making up roughly a quarter of enrollment, and smaller Black and multiracial populations. Data on English learner counts and students with IEPs was not available in the source material.
Texas assesses students in grades three through five on the STAAR, and Norwood's results tell a story worth sitting with. The school reports three STAAR performance tiers: "approaches grade level," "meets grade level," and "masters grade level." The approaches rate across all subjects, meaning students who cleared the lowest bar, is solid and suggests most kids are not falling completely behind. The meets-grade-level rate, which Texas considers the true on-grade standard, lands at roughly the two-in-five range across the school. The masters rate, representing the highest tier, is low across every subject. Compared to other districts in Johnson County, Norwood's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of the nine-district county comparison set. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows the weakest proficiency of any tested subject. Reading scores vary by grade, with third grade performing better than fourth and fifth in ELA. Math improves across grades as students advance. A parent who wants deeper context on what the school is doing to move students through these levels would do well to ask directly, because the data alone does not explain the picture.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether performance is improving, holding steady, or sliding. The data shown reflects only the most recent tested year. Similarly, chronic absenteeism and graduation rate metrics do not apply here, given this is an elementary school.
The broader district picture has two things worth noting for any family weighing Burleson ISD. Voters approved a tax rate increase through a VATRE process, publicly reported as part of a wave of such approvals across area districts. The practical effect is that the school portion of local property taxes went up, while the district gained budget capacity to compete for and retain teachers. Burleson ISD is also adding a new choice campus, the Academy of Sports and Wellness at Frazier, opening in fall 2026, which means the choice landscape families navigate will expand.
On the housing side, Burleson's home values sit modestly above the Texas state benchmark and below the national benchmark, and the market has seen a slight year-over-year softening. Rents are edging up. The city itself is growing quickly, with two large master-planned communities taking shape on the western edge along the Chisholm Trail Parkway corridor. That growth is already shaping the school system and will likely continue to do so, bringing new students and eventually new campuses.
Burleson as a place is suburban in character but not anonymous. The Old Town downtown offers walkable blocks with locally owned shops and restaurants, and the city maintains an extensive parks and trails network. Employment locally spans retail, healthcare, aerospace and defense, and education. The city is car-dependent outside the Old Town core.
For a family already committed to the environmental science theme, Norwood is the only district campus offering it. The academic results, while not among the stronger performers in Johnson County, reflect a school where most children are keeping pace at the approaches level but where fewer are reaching the higher standards Texas sets. That gap is the central academic question worth exploring before enrolling.
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