Rough Hollow El, Spicewood TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Rough Hollow El

Rough Hollow Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Spicewood, a rural Hill Country community in Travis County. The school enrolls a small to mid-sized population for its grade band, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the elementary grades after the pre-K cohort. The student body is predominantly white, with meaningful representation of Asian and Hispanic students and smaller numbers of Black, multiracial, and Native American students. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a relatively affluent enrollment overall.

On state testing, the school shows mixed results. In English language arts, proficiency is solid across tested grades. Reading in fourth grade was particularly strong, with the majority of students meeting or exceeding standards. Reading in third and fifth grades was also at or above the mid-range for proficiency. In mathematics, fourth grade showed strong performance, while third and fifth grades reached the mid-to-upper range of proficiency. A small sixth-grade cohort, likely in a gifted or advanced program or representing grade acceleration, tested at full proficiency in mathematics. Science represents a meaningful gap. Fifth-grade science proficiency was substantially lower than performance in reading and math at the same grade level, suggesting that science instruction or student preparedness in that subject may warrant attention. A parent may want to look into how the school approaches science instruction and whether there are specific content areas where students typically struggle.

Overall performance on the proficiency index in mathematics and language arts ranks in the top quartile among districts in Travis County. This places Rough Hollow among stronger elementary performers in its county peer set, particularly in reading and math at the upper elementary grades.

The school is located in Spicewood, a rural, low-density community about an hour from downtown Austin, characterized by large land parcels, vineyards, and ranches alongside growing master-planned luxury development. The community is car-dependent, with no traditional downtown or walkable districts, though major new residential projects like Thomas Ranch are bringing engineered townscapes and retail to the area. Civic anchors include the privately funded Spicewood Community Library, Spicewood Community Center, and outdoor recreation at Pace Bend Park and Lake Travis. The housing market reflects significant wealth and rapid growth, with new construction at upscale price points and median home values well above state and national benchmarks. Rents have risen modestly year-over-year, and affordability indicators show housing is expensive relative to median incomes, though the median household income in the region is above national averages. The broader Lake Travis school district is managing a major transition: voters approved a bond in 2022 for a second high school, which has been delayed to 2028 due to revised enrollment projections, and the district faces operating budget pressures from declining property values and flat state funding. Additionally, rezoning is postponed to spring 2026, which affects which campus students will attend long-term.

No data was available on student attendance, discipline, special education or English learner populations at this school, staffing, course offerings beyond the state-tested core, or multi-year academic trends that would show whether performance has been rising, stable, or declining.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 10% · ▲ 54 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 62% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 568%

School 68% · District 65% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 6100%

School 100% · District 67% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 66 pts above state median · ▲ 70 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 71% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 77% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Science

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 0% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

This schoolLAKE TRAVIS 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-income33%Higher-income75%42 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income76%43 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income33%Higher-income66%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income69%19 pp gap