Park Hill El, Hewitt TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Park Hill El

Park Hill Elementary sits in Hewitt, a suburban city south of Waco that has grown steadily as a bedroom community along the I-35 corridor. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and enrolls a student body that is roughly a third Hispanic, just over a third white, a tenth Black, and the remainder split among Asian, multiracial, and other groups. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

On state assessments in reading and math for the 2024-25 school year, Park Hill's performance is mixed by grade level. Third and fourth graders show reading proficiency rates in the low-to-mid range, while fifth graders perform noticeably stronger in both reading and math, with reading proficiency climbing to the upper range and math reaching the high end for elementary students. The school's overall reading proficiency across all tested grades is solid. Science results are notably weaker, with fifth-grade science proficiency at the lower end, and parents looking at Park Hill may want to explore with the school what drives that gap. Social studies proficiency is also below the school's performance in core academics. When results are aggregated across all subjects and grade levels tested, Park Hill's overall proficiency index ranks in the top quartile among districts in McLennan County.

The school sits within Midway ISD, which in recent years has undergone significant changes that families in the attendance zone should understand. A grade realignment in 2022-23 eliminated intermediate schools districtwide; fifth grade moved into elementary buildings and sixth grade moved into middle schools, accompanied by a major rezoning that shifted many students to new campuses. More recently, in November 2025, Midway voters approved a large bond measure with all propositions passing, funding facility improvements, safety and technology upgrades, and deferred maintenance across district buildings, with additional program space at the high school, accomplished without raising the district's tax rate. The district has also cut its property tax rate significantly over the long term and in November 2023 passed a voter-approval tax rate election that shifted money to teacher retention and full-time elementary school security without raising the overall tax burden. These moves suggest a district focused on infrastructure investment and employee stability.

Hewitt itself is a suburban landscape organized around commercial strips and highway access rather than a walkable downtown. Civic life centers on parks, including Hewitt Park with recreational facilities along Castleman Creek and the developing Warren Park, along with the public library. The housing market shows prices slightly below the state average, with rents rising modestly year over year. Growth is active, with new residential subdivisions under construction at the I-35 and FM corridor intersection, reflecting Hewitt's longer-term population expansion from a small agricultural town into one of the two largest cities in McLennan County.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 62% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 64% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 69% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 374%

School 74% · District 69% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 68%

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

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 76% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Science

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 47% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

This schoolMIDWAY 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-income65%Higher-income79%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income63%Higher-income71%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income69%Higher-income83%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income54%Higher-income74%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income63%Higher-income68%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income63%Higher-income89%26 pp gap