The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in Science. The lowest is 16% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Johnston El
Johnston Elementary is a public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Irving. The school is a small to mid-sized elementary with enrollment spread fairly evenly across its grade bands, including a sizable pre-K program.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black enrollment and smaller populations of Asian, white, and multiracial students. An overwhelming majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting high family economic need. The school does not report data on special education or English learner populations, so families seeking that information may need to contact the school directly.
Academic proficiency across Johnston is low across tested subjects. In math, the school shows a grade progression pattern: third grade proficiency is minimal, fourth grade remains very low, and fifth grade reaches a higher level but still substantially below typical benchmarks. English language arts follows a similar shape, with minimal proficiency in grades three and four and notably higher results in grade five. Science proficiency in fifth grade is also modest. Across all subjects and grades combined, the school reports that students at the "approaches" level (the lowest performance band) make up roughly half of all students, those meeting standards comprise about one quarter, and students at the "masters" level are sparse. Overall, Johnston's proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter of Dallas County elementary schools.
The school's testing data includes results from Spanish-language assessments in grades three and four, where proficiency rates are extremely low. This likely reflects a portion of the student body in dual-language immersion or recent-arrival English learner programs taking the assessment in Spanish; the district's recent adoption of new K-5 reading and math curriculum in January 2025 may affect instruction going forward.
Irving sits in the Dallas metropolitan area with home values and rental costs aligned with the broader Dallas County market. Home prices show a slight year-over-year decline, while rents have risen modestly. The affordability picture is tight: monthly mortgage estimates exceed rent payments significantly, and rent-to-income ratios are elevated for typical household earnings.
Irving ISD is navigating major transition. In May 2023, voters approved a bond to replace three 1950s-era schools and renovate 32 others, a first major bond in years that will reshape facilities over time. More immediately, the district closed Britain and Elliott elementaries effective 2024-2025 and rezoned their students, with Johnston's zone unchanged. In January 2025, the district adopted the state-provided Bluebonnet Learning curriculum for elementary reading and math, moving away from prior commercial programs; this adoption drew some public attention over curriculum content and was rare among North Texas districts.
A parent evaluating Johnston should see it as a school with significant academic gaps in both core subjects, where student proficiency is substantially lower than the county norm. The school serves a high-poverty, predominantly Hispanic community, and offers pre-K through fifth-grade instruction. The recent district curriculum shift and ongoing bond-funded facility work will touch instruction and environment over the coming years. Parents seeking measurable academic strength or specific program depth may want to explore other Irving ISD elementary schools or ask the school what targeted supports it is implementing to move proficiency trends upward.
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