Cornerstone Academy, Houston TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Cornerstone Academy

Cornerstone Academy is a charter middle school serving grades six through eight in Houston's Spring Branch Independent School District, located in the Westview area on the city's west side. The school enrolls a diverse student body, with a substantial population of white and Hispanic students alongside Asian students and smaller populations of other backgrounds. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Academically, Cornerstone performs at a high level. In English language arts, the school's proficiency rate across grades six through eight ranges in the mid-to-high range, with eighth-grade results particularly strong. Mathematics shows similarly strong performance in eighth grade, though sixth-grade results are somewhat lower. Science and social studies results at the eighth-grade level, the grades assessed in those subjects, are both high. Across all tested areas and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Harris County. The data available represents only the most recent school year, so multi-year trends cannot be established from this information.

The school is small for a middle school, with enrollment across the three grade levels that keeps class sizes manageable. Band is offered as an extracurricular arts option. Beyond course catalogs and the band program, details on other course offerings, career pathways, or specialized programming were not available in the materials provided.

As a charter school, Cornerstone operates under a different governance model than a traditional public school but sits within the Spring Branch ISD framework. The school does not carry Title I status, meaning it does not serve a concentration of economically disadvantaged students qualifying for federal support.

Spring Branch ISD itself operates in an area shaped by Houston's distinctive lack of zoning regulations, which allows residential, commercial, and industrial uses to coexist. The broader Houston region is among the fastest-growing in the United States, with substantial new housing construction and suburban expansion, though this growth is increasingly occurring in outlying counties beyond Harris County proper. Housing values in the zip code where Cornerstone sits are moderate by Houston standards, and rental costs align with regional norms. The local employment base reflects Houston's larger economy, anchored by energy, healthcare, aerospace, and logistics.

For families considering Cornerstone, the appeal centers on a small, academically strong middle school with a diverse peer group. The school's test results are a genuine strength. Parents may want to look further into what career connections, elective breadth, or academic support systems exist beyond the core academics captured in state testing, as the available data does not detail those offerings. Whether the charter structure, size, or specific academic focus aligns with a student's needs would also warrant a direct conversation with the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 685%

School 85% · District 51% · ▲ 34 pts above district

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 52 pts above county median

Grade 895%

School 95% · District 59% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 52 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 698%

School 98% · District 60% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 797%

School 97% · District 59% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 48 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 898%

School 98% · District 59% · ▲ 39 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Science

Grade 898%

School 98% · District 55% · ▲ 43 pts above district

▲ 56 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 885%

School 85% · District 36% · ▲ 49 pts above district

▲ 61 pts above state median · ▲ 63 pts above county median

This schoolSPRING BRANCH 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 6Lower-income95%Higher-income98%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income92%Higher-income97%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income89%Higher-income98%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income89%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income92%Higher-income95%3 pp gap