The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Shugart El
Shugart Elementary sits on Rosehill Road in Garland, a mature, built-out city in northeast Dallas County where mid-century neighborhoods and newer developments share the same grid. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within Garland ISD, drawing from a community where manufacturing, distribution, and the school district itself are among the largest employers. Garland is car-oriented overall, though the historic downtown anchors some civic life, and the city remains one of the more affordable markets in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, with home values running below both the state and national medians and renting relatively accessible as a share of income.
The student body is a majority-Hispanic and majority-Black school, with those two groups together making up well over three-quarters of enrollment. A very high share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, marking this as a high-poverty campus by any measure. The school also offers testing in Spanish in some grades, a reflection of its student population. Specific data on English learners and students with IEPs was not available in what we received.
On the Texas STAAR assessment, Shugart's proficiency results are low across the board. In math, grade-level proficiency rates range from roughly a quarter of third graders to under half of fourth graders, with fifth grade in between. Reading and language arts results follow a similar pattern, somewhat higher than math in some grades but still well below what you would hope to see. The fifth-grade Spanish-language science cohort that was tested was very small, and no students in that group scored proficient, though the tiny group size makes that figure difficult to interpret. Social studies results, where tested, show that nearly half of students approach grade level but very few meet or master the standard.
Texas's STAAR framework uses three performance bands: approaches grade level, meets grade level, and masters grade level. Across all tested subjects combined, roughly two-thirds of Shugart students approach grade level, meaning they demonstrate at least a basic grasp of the material. About a third meet grade level, and only a small fraction reach the masters level. Positioned relative to districts in Dallas County, the school's overall proficiency index sits just above the midpoint of that comparison set, which is a meaningful distinction in a county where some schools score much lower and others much higher. A parent who wants to understand how students at different starting points are progressing over time would want to ask the school directly about its growth data, as we only have one year of results and cannot show a trend.
The district context matters here. Garland ISD has been navigating declining enrollment, resulting in campus consolidations starting in 2024-25 and continuing into 2025-26. Shugart itself is listed as open and does not appear among the campuses named in consolidation announcements, but a family would be wise to confirm that status directly with the district. Voters also approved a tax rate election in late 2025 to help close a budget shortfall and fund teacher retention, special education, and operations, so property tax costs for homeowners in the district have risen. A bond passed in 2023 is funding facility modernization across aging campuses. The district has also publicly reported a shift toward explicit instruction, high-quality instructional materials, and a structured assessment framework aligned to STAAR, which a parent would likely notice in how classrooms are run day to day.
For families considering Garland's housing market, prices have dipped modestly year over year and sit below state and national benchmarks, making it one of the more accessible entry points in the Dallas metro. Rents have also softened slightly. The city is largely car-dependent, though the downtown DART Blue Line station and a network of transit connections exist for those who need them.
Shugart is a high-poverty elementary campus with a demographically diverse student body, modest proficiency results on state tests, and a district working through real fiscal and structural challenges. Families with students who need strong foundational academic support, bilingual or Spanish-language instruction, or early childhood programming through pre-K may find it worth exploring directly. The academic numbers suggest questions worth asking the school about how it supports students who are not yet meeting grade level, and what structures exist for accelerating growth.
See more original research from School Decision →