Washington El, Sherman TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Washington El

Washington Elementary is a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school in Sherman, Texas, serving just over five hundred students in a neighborhood setting on South Travis Street. The enrollment is dominated by Hispanic students with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a economically challenged area.

The school's academic performance is well below state expectations across tested grades and subjects. In the most recent testing, proficiency rates in third through fifth grade ranged from single digits in some measures to around one-third in others. Third-grade English Language Arts proficiency was in the low-to-mid range, while fourth-grade math showed modest performance and fifth-grade science proficiency was particularly weak. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the thirteen districts in Grayson County. A parent may want to look into these results further with the school to understand what academic supports or interventions are in place, and whether any recent changes in curriculum or instruction are underway.

Washington Elementary sits within Sherman ISD, a district experiencing rapid growth tied to semiconductor manufacturing investment in the area. The district passed a major bond in 2023 with no property tax increase, funded partly by expansion of the tax base from new industrial development and partly by paydown of earlier debt. That bond is reshaping the district's physical footprint: two of the oldest elementary schools, including buildings from the 1950s, are being replaced with new campuses, and a brand-new elementary school already opened in 2025 in the Heritage Ranch master-planned community on the northwest side of town. Washington Elementary itself is not one of the schools being replaced by the bond; it continues to operate in its existing location.

Sherman itself is a mixed-use city undergoing significant change. The historic downtown core, recently designated a Texas Cultural District, remains a pedestrian-friendly gathering place with boutiques, antique shops, and restaurants in restored buildings. But the city's growth is concentrated west of downtown, where large-scale manufacturing facilities and new residential development are underway. The new Sherman High School, completed years ago, spurred a wave of development along Heritage Parkway, including the master-planned Bel Air Village. Despite nearly a billion dollars in announced semiconductor investment, actual homebuilding has lagged, with population growth modest so far and analysts watching residential development move north along the US-75 corridor. Housing values are moderate; median home prices are substantially below the state benchmark.

For families considering Washington Elementary, the immediate academic picture shows a school where most students are not meeting grade-level standards in tested subjects. The broader context is a district in transition, with new buildings and capacity on the way, and a city in early stages of industrial growth that may eventually reshape the housing market and neighborhood character. A family's decision might hinge on proximity to the school, what program supports are available to students, and whether the family's preference is to be near a campus where older buildings and lower performance are offset by enrollment in a growing district that is building new facilities and maintaining stable tax rates.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 17% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 31% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 8%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 38% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 39% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 42% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Science

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 20% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolSHERMAN 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 5Lower-income30%Higher-income86%56 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income15%Higher-income29%14 pp gap