The top reported proficiency rate is 96% in Math. The lowest is 92% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Martha & Josh Morriss Math & Engineering El
Martha and Josh Morriss Math and Engineering Elementary sits on University Park Drive in Texarkana, Texas, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Texarkana ISD. The school's name signals its identity clearly: this is a math and engineering-focused campus, a specialized program within a traditional public district, not a charter.
The academic results on Texas's STAAR assessments are genuinely strong. Across every tested grade and subject, nearly all students reached the proficient-or-above threshold. Fifth-grade math was the high-water mark, with every tested student meeting the bar. Reading and language arts followed close behind, and fifth-grade science results were similarly high. The multi-year trend data covers only the most recent year, so it is not yet possible to say whether this level of performance has been consistent over time or represents a recent peak, and a parent may want to ask the school about that history directly. What the data does show is that the share of students reaching the state's highest performance level, what Texas calls "Masters," is meaningfully lower than the share reaching basic proficiency, suggesting that while nearly all students are clearing the threshold, a significant minority are not yet performing at the top tier. That gap is worth noting even against an otherwise impressive picture.
Enrollment sits at a modest size for a K-5 school, with roughly even class groups across most grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with Black students making up the next largest group, followed by students identifying as two or more races and smaller shares of Asian, Hispanic, and other students. Fewer than a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a notably lower economic disadvantage rate than is common in urban Texas elementary schools. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs was not available in the records we reviewed.
Compared to districts in Bowie County, Morriss Elementary's overall proficiency index places it well above the county median and at the top of the distribution among county districts. That position is worth context: this is a specialized magnet-style campus drawing families who chose it, within a broader district that carries a more varied student population across its other schools.
Texarkana itself is a city defined by its position on the Texas-Arkansas state line, with State Line Avenue literally running through the downtown. The local economy rests on healthcare systems, manufacturing, military logistics at the Red River Army Depot, and retail. Publicly reported sources note the city is in an active growth phase, with new residential construction on the edges of town, a Texas A&M campus expected to expand substantially, and new industrial arrivals. Housing in the zip code around the school is priced noticeably below the Texas state median and well below the national median, and the estimated monthly mortgage cost is modest relative to typical household incomes, making the area accessible by cost-of-living standards. Rents similarly fall below what most national indexes would consider burdensome.
On the district side, Texarkana ISD voters approved a substantial bond measure a few years ago, publicly reported to fund new school construction, security upgrades, and a new Career and Technical Education building at the high school. A new elementary campus is among the bond-funded projects underway. The district has also launched a P-TECH academy at Texas High School, where students can work toward a high school diploma and an associate degree simultaneously at no cost, with transfer pathways to Texas A&M University-Texarkana. Those pathways are downstream from where Morriss students are now, but they describe the academic direction the district is building toward.
Program-specific offerings at Morriss beyond the school's math and engineering identity were not detailed in the records available. A parent interested in exactly how the engineering focus is implemented in daily instruction, what enrichment or intervention supports exist, or how the school manages the transition to middle school would want to ask those questions directly.
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