Cornelius El, Houston TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Cornelius El

Cornelius Elementary is a small, densely Latino and low-income primary school in Houston, serving prekindergarten through fifth grade. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the school's student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a small number of Black and Asian students. The school is part of Houston ISD, which remains under state control following the 2023 takeover by the Texas Education Agency. That takeover extended through 2027, meaning families have no elected local school board and the district is governed by state appointees.

Academic performance here is weak across the board. On state assessments in math and English language arts, proficiency rates are substantially below typical benchmarks. Fourth-grade English results show about half of students at proficiency, and fourth-grade math is similar, but third-grade results in both subjects dip into single digits when taken in Spanish, and fifth-grade science proficiency runs below a quarter of the cohort. Within Harris County's districts, the school sits in the bottom quartile on overall proficiency. The data reflect a school serving a population with significant academic gaps that the current instruction has not yet closed.

The school sits in Houston's outer southeast side near Westover Street, in an area that mixes residential neighborhoods with some commercial and light industrial uses, consistent with Houston's lack of traditional zoning. Housing values in the immediate zip code have declined modestly over the past year, and the median home price sits well below both state and national benchmarks. Rental costs are moderate. The area is Houston's sprawling outer edge rather than a walkable urban neighborhood; families here rely on cars.

Cornelius operates under the district-wide New Education System, which brings a standardized, district-mandated curriculum with daily timed quizzes, longer school days, scripted lessons, and tighter instructional oversight. NES schools receive substantially higher per-student funding than non-NES campuses to support this model. For families choosing between schools, this pedagogy represents a departure from more open or teacher-directed approaches—whether it fits depends on preferences for structure, explicit instruction, and frequent assessment.

The school's English learner and special education counts are not reported in the available data; a parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly if their child has these support needs. Enrollment data from the district show it has contracted significantly during the state takeover, and in February 2026 the board voted to close or consolidate twelve campuses by the end of the 2025-26 school year. Cornelius was not on that list, but the closures signal structural change and tighter capacity management across the district, which families should monitor.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 36%

School 6% · District 47% · ▼ 41 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 46% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 35%

School 5% · District 23% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 52% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 26% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 3% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

This schoolHOUSTON 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

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income6%Higher-income83%77 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income53%Higher-income78%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income82%62 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income78%34 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income73%15 pp gap