The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in English language arts. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cooke El
Cooke Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fourth grade and sits in Cleburne, a growing Johnson County city marked by new residential development and major infrastructure investment. The school has a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is stable and moderate for the grade band it serves.
Reading proficiency at Cooke is a genuine strength. Third-grade students show solid performance in English language arts, and fourth graders testing in Spanish demonstrate adequate progress in reading. Writing and foundational skills across both grades reach levels most would recognize as competent or higher. By contrast, mathematics proficiency trails reading by a significant margin. Third-grade math performance falls short of where most schools position their students, and fourth-grade math proficiency drops further, suggesting a widening gap as students advance. The data from an earlier year on science proficiency indicates very low performance at the upper elementary level, though the school does not currently test science at grades three and four where the school operates.
When viewed across all tested standards and levels, Cooke's overall proficiency sits below the midpoint among Johnson County school districts. A parent visiting classrooms would likely encounter earnest instruction and individual student gains, but the aggregate picture is of a school where students as a group are running behind grade-level expectations in mathematics and where the science data, though not current, signals a persistent challenge in inquiry-based learning.
The broader Cleburne ISD context matters considerably for families considering Cooke. The district has faced two bond election defeats in 2025—one in May and another in November—both aimed at replacing aging elementary buildings, including Cooke itself, and expanding district capacity to accommodate rapid enrollment growth. The November package specifically proposed two new elementary schools to replace Cooke and Gerard, classroom additions at Marti Elementary, a new stadium, and district technology. With voters rejecting these measures twice, facility upgrades and space expansion remain unfunded, and enrollment is expected to continue rising as new subdivisions build out across the city. Families should be aware that Cooke may operate under sustained capacity pressure and that the school's physical plant and resources will not receive the infusion that a bond passage would have provided.
Additionally, beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, Cleburne ISD replaced College Board's Pre-AP courses with district-developed Advanced courses for grades six through twelve at all secondary campuses. This change affects the pathway for elementary students heading into middle school, though it does not directly impact Cooke itself, which serves only grades through fourth.
Cleburne itself is on a clear growth trajectory, with abundant new-home construction, major mixed-use developments underway, and a short drive to Fort Worth. Housing affordability remains reasonable relative to state benchmarks, though median values have declined slightly year over year. The city maintains a historic downtown core with walkable commercial districts, public libraries, parks, and Amtrak service, and daily life is shaped by employer diversity that includes school district operations, distribution and retail, manufacturing, healthcare, and government. A parent choosing Cooke should expect a neighborhood school in a growing community with a strong reading emphasis in early grades but will want to engage with the school and district directly about mathematics instruction and intervention supports, given the proficiency gap, and understand that facility constraints and capacity pressures will likely persist until the district secures passage of a future bond package.
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