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What do you wish you knew before starting at CARSON EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
489
Elementary
DISTRICT 446 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DECATUR ISD·NCES 481650008962
Carson Elementary School
2100 BUSINESS 81/287 S, DECATUR, TX 76234 · (940) 393-7500 · Wise County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL489 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
207 students
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 35 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 58 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 70 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 70 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 82 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 83 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 91 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (58) is 36% smaller than its 5th grade class (91).
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within DECATUR ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
51.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +16.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
32.0%
TX avg 45.3% . -3.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 51 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 32 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 16 points since 2020, while math scores are down about 3 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 18.0% | 33.0% | 25.0% | 24.0% |
| Mathematics | 11.0% | 21.0% | 31.0% | 37.0% |
Share of tested students at each STAAR level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
STAAR results by year
| School year | Reading | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 51.0% | 32.0% |
| 2024-25 | 45.0% | 32.0% |
| 2023-24 | 43.0% | 33.0% |
| 2022-23 | 40.0% | 28.0% |
| 2021-22 | 39.0% | 44.0% |
| 2020-21 | 35.0% | 35.0% |
% Meets Grade Level or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
33.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
55.6%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-22.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 56% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Carson Elementary School
Carson Elementary School's state test result (33.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carson Elementary School this school | 489 | 42.3% | 33.2% |
| Butterfield Elementary School SANGER | 503 | 43.1% | 54.8% |
| Plum Creek Elementary School JOSHUA | 446 | 41.9% | 57.8% |
| Hook Elementary School STEPHENVILLE | 485 | 42.9% | 65.8% |
| Bay Elementary School SEABROOK | 519 | 40.1% | 48.6% |
| Glen Rose Elementary School GLEN ROSE | 499 | 47.5% | N/A |
Matched among Texas elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Carson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Wise County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.2% | #3,347 of 4,401 | #10 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 32.0% | #3,741 of 4,466 ▼ 187 | #10 of 12 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.0% | #2,372 of 4,466 ▲ 631 | #8 of 12 ▲ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.5pp | #1,788 of 3,998 | #5 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 489 | #2,641 of 4,938 | #5 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.7:1 | #3,021 of 4,622 | #10 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 52.4% | #2,188 of 4,628 | #5 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.3% | #3,862 of 4,789 | #9 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.3% | #1,030 of 1,307 | #7 of 7 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
489
-14 (-3%) vs 2020
+15% since 2000-01, when it was 425
Student : Teacher
15.7:1
was 15.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 489 | 31.3 | 15.7:1 | 42% (207) |
| 2023-24 | 475 | 34.3 | 13.8:1 | 41% (197) |
| 2022-23 | 548 | 36.8 | 14.9:1 | 45% (244) |
| 2020-21 | 503 | 33 | 15.2:1 | 44% (219) |
| 2017-18 | 469 | 33 | 14.2:1 | 41% (193) |
| 2015-16 | 448 | 32 | 14.0:1 | 45% (202) |
| 2010-11 | 431 | 31 | 13.9:1 | 45% (196) |
| 2000-01 | 425 | 30 | 14.2:1 | 40% (172) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Carson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (469 to 489); teachers down 5% (33 to 31.3).
About Carson Elementary School
Families in DECATUR, Texas, are served by Carson Elementary School, a medium-sized elementary school. A total of 489 students attend the school, which covers pre-K through 5.
Within DECATUR ISD, Carson Elementary School is one of 6 schools. The district enrolls 3,786 students.
Carson Elementary School is 59% White by enrollment. Smaller groups are 35% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. County-wide, 80% of Wise County residents are White. The school's diversity index is 52%, meaning two students picked at random have a 52% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 15.7:1, with 31.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. For comparison, elementary schools in Texas average 15.1:1. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Carson Elementary School is 42%.
Carson Elementary School falls short of its prediction by 22.4 points. The model expects 55.6% for a school with its free or reduced-price lunch share in Texas; the school's rate is 33.2%.
Census Bureau estimates for Wise County show that the median household income is $93,421, roughly 22% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. There are 28 public schools in Wise County, enrolling about 12,854 students in all.
Decatur High School is located about 0.3 miles from Carson Elementary School. The five-mile area around Carson Elementary School holds 5 other public schools. Carson Elementary School comes in 9th of 9 nearby schools on average proficiency.
Federal data place Carson Elementary School in the Town: Distant locale, which means it is in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Federal data show a 3% enrollment decrease, from 503 in 2020-21 to 489 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Carson Elementary School may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Wise County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
75,005
Census ACS
Median income
$93,421
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
12,854 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in DECATUR ISD
- Decatur High SchoolHigh · 1,163 students
- McCarroll Middle SchoolMiddle · 838 students
- Rann Elementary SchoolElementary · 471 students
- Young Elementary SchoolElementary · 445 students
- STEM Academy at Enis Elementary SchoolElementary · 380 students
Other schools in DECATUR
- Decatur High SchoolHigh · 1,163 students
- McCarroll Middle SchoolMiddle · 838 students
- Rann Elementary SchoolElementary · 471 students
- Young Elementary SchoolElementary · 445 students
- STEM Academy at Enis Elementary SchoolElementary · 380 students
Other Carson Elementary schools
8 other US public schools in 7 states are named Carson Elementary. Carson Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 9.
- Carson Elementary SchoolSAN ANTONIO, TX · 488 students
- Carson Elementary SchoolChicago, IL · 724 students
- Carson Elementary SchoolNewark, OH · 414 students
- Carson Elementary SchoolDENVER, CO · 412 students
- Carson ElementarySan Diego, CA · 336 students
Nearby schools
- Decatur High School0.3 mi · 1,163
- STEM Academy at Enis Elementary School1.8 mi · 380
- McCarroll Middle School1.8 mi · 838
- Rann Elementary School2.2 mi · 471
- Young Elementary School2.7 mi · 445
- Paradise High School8.5 mi · 373
Frequently asked questions
About Carson Elementary SchoolHow large is Carson Elementary School?
Carson Elementary School enrolls approximately 489 students in grades PK-05.
Is Carson Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Carson Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Carson Elementary School have?
Carson Elementary School employs 31 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.7:1.
What is the student diversity at Carson Elementary School?
Student demographics at Carson Elementary School are roughly 59% White, 35% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Carson Elementary School public or private?
Carson Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by DECATUR ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.