The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lee Longino El
Lee Longino Elementary sits on the west side of Ferris, a small city in northern Ellis County that hugs Interstate 45 about twenty miles south of downtown Dallas. The school serves grades one through five as a regular public campus within Ferris ISD. Its enrollment is moderate for a campus of its grade band, and the student body is majority Hispanic, with substantial shares of white and Black students as well. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this squarely among higher-need elementary campuses. English learner and special education counts were not available in the data provided.
On the Texas STAAR assessment, the picture is mixed and worth looking at carefully. In math, roughly a third of students in the tested grades reached the "meets grade level" standard, which is Texas's primary proficiency threshold. Reading and language arts results at fifth grade were somewhat stronger, with around half of students meeting that bar. Science tells a different story: only about one in five fifth graders reached meets grade level, which is the weakest result in the data and a gap a parent may want to explore further with the school. Across all tested subjects, the share of students reaching the higher "masters" level is quite small in every subject. The "approaches grade level" numbers, Texas's lowest passing threshold, are more encouraging, hovering around two-thirds of students in most subjects. Only one year of trend data is available, so it is not yet possible to say whether results are improving, holding, or declining.
Placed against other districts in Ellis County, Longino's overall proficiency index falls just below the midpoint of the county's districts. That is a useful orientation: not at the bottom, but not among the stronger performers in the county either.
Ferris itself is changing fast. Publicly reported accounts describe the city's population roughly doubling in recent years, with a massive mixed-use development along the Loop 9 corridor that could, according to the city manager, triple the city's size again over the coming years. New home construction is active across many subdivisions. That growth is reaching the school directly: voters approved a bond in May 2025, the district's largest in recent memory, that funds new classrooms at Longino Elementary specifically, along with a new fifth-and-sixth-grade campus and districtwide upgrades to relieve overcrowding. The classrooms are being built in response to enrollment projections that show substantial growth through the end of the decade. Families considering a move to the area should know the bond passed as a property tax increase, and the district already carries one of the higher school tax rates among Ellis County districts.
For families with children approaching middle and high school, the district has added a P-TECH early college program at Ferris High School, publicly reported to allow students to earn an associate degree and industry certifications alongside their diploma at no cost. That pathway exists downstream from Longino, but it is relevant context for families thinking about the full arc through Ferris ISD.
Housing near the school sits below both the state and national medians based on current home value data, which reflects Ferris's character as an affordable bedroom community within the broader DFW economy. The downtown square has a historic small-city feel with brick storefronts and community events rooted in Ferris's brickmaking heritage, though the city as a whole is auto-oriented.
For an elementary-aged child, Lee Longino offers a mid-sized neighborhood campus in a community that is growing and investing in new school facilities. Academic results are below the county midpoint in most subjects, and the science results in particular warrant a conversation with the school about how it is addressing that gap. The combination of ongoing construction, demographic growth, and the campus expansion may bring meaningful changes to the school environment over the next few years.
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