Gates El, San Antonio TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Gates El

Gates Elementary sits within San Antonio ISD, a large urban district that has undergone significant restructuring. The school itself is small, serving prekindergarten through sixth grade on the city's east side. It is nearly all Hispanic and Black students, with the vast majority qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of its immediate neighborhood. The school's enrollment is compact for its grade span, distributed across eight grades with particularly small numbers in fourth grade.

State assessment results for the 2023-24 school year show uneven performance across subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency is stronger in fifth grade, where about half of tested students met grade-level standards, while fourth grade proficiency was notably lower. In mathematics, the pattern is more challenging across the board. Third and fifth grades show moderate proficiency, while fourth grade was particularly low and sixth grade hovered near one-third. Science proficiency in fifth grade was very low. Test participation numbers were small in each grade, typical of a school of this size, which means individual student performance carries more weight in the overall picture. A parent may want to explore with the school what specific supports exist in math, particularly in grades four and six, and understand what science instruction looks like given the notably low science results.

Within the Bexar County district comparison, Gates's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint. This positioning reflects some academic strength relative to other elementary schools in the county, even though the absolute numbers show clear room for growth, especially in mathematics and science.

The larger context of San Antonio ISD shapes what families encounter. The district voted in late 2023 to close 15 schools and redesign others in response to declining enrollment, a decision that directly affected families in the area. The district has also implemented a curriculum standardization initiative across campuses, moving toward a common math and reading approach with an emphasis on phonics-based literacy instruction, replacing the prior variation from school to school. This is a pedagogical shift that changes how reading is taught district-wide. Additionally, a 2020 bond continues to fund facility improvements across many campuses, though the district faces the challenge of serving a large high-need population while managing enrollment loss.

Housing in the 78220 zip code where Gates is located is moderately priced by regional standards, with monthly rents reflecting the area's economic baseline. The neighborhood sits in a part of San Antonio that is inner-city and historically settled, in contrast to the newer suburban growth corridors farther north and northeast.

For families choosing Gates, the school offers the continuity of a traditional public elementary in a stable neighborhood setting with a student body that is overwhelmingly from low-income backgrounds. The school is small enough that individual attention is possible and large enough to maintain basic program structure. The trade-off is that academic proficiency, particularly in math and science, is an area where the school will need to be intentional about support and where parents may want to ask specific questions about intervention strategies, reading instruction methods, and how the school's curriculum aligns with the district's recent standardization initiatives.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 30% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 29% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 29% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 16% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 35% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 32% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 44% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 33% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 5% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolSAN ANTONIO 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.