The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Math. The lowest is 29% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Elmore El
Elmore Elementary is a small public school in the northeast Houston neighborhood of Settegast, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is about evenly split between Hispanic and Black students, with a handful of other backgrounds represented. The neighborhood is low-income, working-class Houston.
The school's state test results reveal substantial academic challenges. In 2024-25 STAAR testing, a little more than half of third-grade students met proficiency in math when tested in Spanish. Fourth-grade math proficiency was much lower, with only a quarter of the small cohort tested meeting the mark. Third-grade English language arts proficiency stood near the bottom at around three in ten students. Testing numbers for grades four and five were very small, which typically signals either very few students at that grade or very few tested, so those results are incomplete. Science testing was reported for only a single fifth-grade student. Overall, when averaging across all tested subjects and grades, the school's proficiency index placed it above the midpoint compared to other schools in Harris County, though this reflects the composition of what was tested rather than universal strength. The pattern suggests a school where many students are still acquiring foundational reading and math skills.
The school operates within Houston ISD, which since June 2023 has been under state takeover. An appointed board of managers and state-appointed superintendent replaced the elected school board, and this arrangement will remain in place at least through 2027. The district has introduced a standardized instructional model called the New Education System (NES) across some schools, featuring scripted lessons, daily quizzes, longer school days, and tighter curriculum control. As part of these reforms, many school libraries have been converted to spaces for students with behavioral needs, eliminating traditional librarian positions. In February 2026 the district voted to close or consolidate 12 schools after the 2025-26 school year due to declining enrollment and aging facilities. Families should confirm whether Elmore is among the affected schools and understand how reassignment might alter their school assignment or commute.
The immediate neighborhood lacks the walkability or amenities of Houston's central districts. Housing values in the 77028 zip code have declined modestly over the past year. The broader Houston area is growing rapidly, though that growth is spreading increasingly toward suburban counties rather than concentrating in established neighborhoods. For a family seeking an elementary school in a high-poverty, linguistically diverse neighborhood with academic performance that lags district averages and amid significant systemic change in the district's governance and instructional approach, this is the concrete picture. A parent may want to look into whether any school closures affect this campus and what the district's plans are for supporting early literacy and numeracy instruction given current test results.
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