Stephen C Foster El, Dallas TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Stephen C Foster El

Stephen C. Foster Elementary serves a small student body in central Dallas, stretching from pre-K through sixth grade. The student composition is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty school serving a largely low-income community.

In math, the school shows a wide performance spread across grades. Fourth grade sits at a modest proficiency rate, while fifth grade reaches a stronger level. Third and sixth grades fall below that benchmark. Overall math proficiency across the school reaches just above the midpoint when all students and all tested grades combine. English language arts yields a similar picture: third-grade Spanish-language testing shows just under a third of students meeting the proficiency mark, while fifth-grade English testing reaches a higher proportion. Fourth and sixth grades are below the school average in ELA. Science proficiency in fifth grade is notably low. Across all subjects, when counting students at the "approaches" level (the lower proficiency tier in Texas), the school reaches acceptable marks, but when looking at students who "meet" or "master" the standard, the proportions drop substantially.

This profile positions the school slightly above the midpoint among Dallas County districts on a combined proficiency measure, but that positioning reflects a generally low-performing cohort countywide rather than strong absolute performance. The school's test results suggest that many students are making academic progress but have not yet demonstrated solid command of grade-level material.

The neighborhood housing market in the 75220 zip code shows home values and rents that fall below the state and national benchmarks, consistent with the school's high free and reduced lunch rate. The Dallas area itself is experiencing substantial growth and new development, with a major bond passed in May 2026 that will fund 26 new school buildings and eliminate portable classrooms across the district over the next several years, though it is unclear whether Foster will be among the schools receiving new facilities.

The school's very small fifth-grade Spanish-language math cohort and the absence of data for special education enrollment or English learner counts suggest the school may serve a population with particular linguistic needs. Dallas ISD has recently shifted from opt-in to opt-out enrollment in advanced courses, automatically placing high-performing students into honors math, reading, science, and social studies. For a school with Foster's current proficiency profile, a parent may want to look into further with the school how this policy affects student pathways and what supplementary supports exist for students working toward proficiency.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 19% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 21% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 32% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 50% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 52% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 58% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 48% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 13% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolDALLAS 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.

Proficiency by household income

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income35%Higher-income0%35 pp gap