Bonner El, Tyler TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Bonner El

Bonner Elementary is a small public elementary school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Tyler, a county seat and regional hub in East Texas. The school sits downtown at 235 S. Saunders and serves a student body that is primarily Hispanic, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's academic performance is mixed, with notable variation across grade levels and subjects. In English language arts, fifth graders perform strongest, with a majority meeting or exceeding proficiency. Third and fourth graders show weaker results, particularly in third grade. Math performance is more uneven: third grade struggles considerably, fourth grade reaches toward the midpoint, and fifth grade improves again. Science results in fifth grade are notably low. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it above the midpoint among Smith County's districts, suggesting the school is not an outlier among its neighbors, though individual grade-level results warrant a closer look.

The school's enrollment is small, around mid-range for an elementary school in its district, with a fairly even distribution across grades. The vast majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic context of the neighborhood served. Demographic data shows the student body is predominantly Hispanic, with meaningful representation of Black students, and very small numbers of Asian, American Indian, and white students. The school has not reported specific counts for English learners or students with individualized education programs, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the support available.

Tyler itself is a stable, growing city with a mix of commercial, civic, and residential character. Downtown hosts civic and cultural anchors, while residential neighborhoods range from historic in-town districts to newer suburban subdivisions. Housing values have shifted from rapid post-pandemic appreciation toward more balance, with inventory and longer selling times emerging in early 2025. Healthcare and education lead the local economy, anchored by two large hospital systems, the University of Texas at Tyler, and Tyler Junior College. The city is adding housing stock and has invested in downtown improvement and pedestrian access projects, though it remains largely car-dependent.

Tyler ISD has recently completed a significant capital project across many campuses, funded by a bond that did not raise the tax rate. The district is also implementing a longer school day and extended school year at one middle school as part of a turnaround model, a change that reflects the district's focus on improving accountability ratings at lower-performing sites. For Bonner, state testing data was available for current performance, but historical trends and comparison data across multiple years were not provided, so a parent seeking to understand whether recent results reflect improvement or decline would need to check with the school for that context.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 31% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 46% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 12% · ▲ 48 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 27% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 42% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 29% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

This schoolTYLER 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

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income28%Higher-income30%2 pp gap