The top reported proficiency rate is 84% in Science. The lowest is 53% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Gilmer El
Gilmer EL serves the four youngest grades—prekindergarten through fourth—as part of Gilmer's four-campus school structure. The school sits on US Highway 271 North, away from the downtown courthouse square that anchors civic life in this small East Texas county seat. It is an elementary school in a town with a long agricultural heritage, known for the East Texas Yamboree sweet-potato festival, set in the Piney Woods region.
The school enrolls about a quarter of the enrollment range typical for elementary schools this size in its grade band. Most students—a substantial share—qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting broader economic conditions in the area. The student body is diverse: the majority are white, with a significant Hispanic population alongside Black and multiracial students. The school carries no charter status and operates as a traditional public elementary school.
On state assessments in 2024-25, the school showed mixed results. In third-grade reading and language arts, proficiency reached the low-to-mid range, while math proficiency in the same grade landed in a similar band. Fourth-grade reading proficiency was just above half, and fourth-grade math proficiency was close to that mark. When all tested grades and subjects are combined into a single proficiency measure, the school sits in the top quartile of schools across Upshur County. This standing reflects that while individual grade-level results are not high, the school performs above the county median overall.
When the data is viewed by performance level, a substantial share of students meet or exceed grade-level standards in reading and math, though the majority do not reach the highest mastery level. In reading across grades three and four, just under three of every five students meet the standard or better, and fewer reach mastery. In math, the pattern is similar—a bit more than half meet the standard or better, with fewer at mastery. Students performing below standard make up a meaningful share in both subjects. The school also shows strong reading engagement or approaches, with a large majority of students making meaningful progress even if not yet meeting the grade-level bar.
Because Gilmer EL serves only early grades, state science testing is not part of its assessment profile. Science assessment data from the school appears from when the school tested fifth grade, a data point that no longer applies to its current grade span.
The town setting is walkable in its downtown historic district—clustered around the courthouse square with brick buildings, local shops, and cafes—but car-oriented elsewhere. Median home values in the zip code are modest, and the housing stock tends toward older construction. The area shows slow, modest growth, with public sector and healthcare employment providing a steady economic base. For families considering Gilmer EL, the school offers a traditional public elementary program in a small community with a grounded sense of place, though parents may want to discuss directly with the school how it is working to move more students into proficient and mastery performance bands, particularly in mathematics.
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