1
Enrollment
449
Elementary
DISTRICT 471 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAXAHACHIE ISD·NCES 484473012617
Clift Elementary School
650 PARKS SCHOOL HOUSE RD, WAXAHACHIE, TX 75165 · (972) 923-4720 · Ellis County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL449 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.5:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.1:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
67%
300 students
DISTRICT 50% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 66 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 75 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 81 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (66) is 19% smaller than its 5th grade class (81).
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · 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
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
35.0%
TX avg 54.5% . -15.0pp since 2021
Mathematics
21.0%
TX avg 45.3% . -15.0pp since 2021
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 21 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are down about 15 points since 2021, while math scores are down about 15 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 9.0% | 26.0% | 27.0% | 38.0% |
| Mathematics | 5.0% | 16.0% | 21.0% | 58.0% |
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 | 35.0% | 21.0% |
| 2024-25 | 33.0% | 19.0% |
| 2023-24 | 38.0% | 30.0% |
| 2022-23 | 50.0% | 50.0% |
| 2021-22 | 50.0% | 36.0% |
% 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
27.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.2%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 45% 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 Clift Elementary School
Clift Elementary School's state test result (27.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clift Elementary School this school | 449 | 66.8% | 27.4% |
| Red Oak Elementary School RED OAK | 491 | 65.4% | 43.8% |
| Northlake Elementary School DALLAS | 414 | 61.8% | 41.9% |
| Amanda Rochell Elementary School ROCKWALL | 423 | 63.1% | 35.8% |
| Donna Park HURST | 439 | 72.7% | 49.0% |
| Sul Ross Elementary School BRYAN | 476 | 74.6% | 46.5% |
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 Clift Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Ellis County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.4% | #3,890 of 4,401 | #36 of 36 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.0% | #4,356 of 4,466 ▼ 12 | #36 of 36 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 35.0% | #4,080 of 4,466 ▼ 29 | #36 of 36 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -22.0pp | #54 of 3,998 | #1 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 449 | #3,029 of 4,938 | #28 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.5:1 | #555 of 4,622 | #2 of 42 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.3% | #679 of 4,628 | #3 of 42 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 66.8% | #2,733 of 4,789 | #13 of 42 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +19.7% | #428 of 1,307 | #11 of 20 |
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
449
+7 (+2%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
12.5:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 449 | 35.8 | 12.5:1 | 67% (300) |
| 2023-24 | 608 | 40.8 | 14.9:1 | 63% (386) |
| 2022-23 | 549 | 37.6 | 14.6:1 | 63% (347) |
| 2020-21 | 442 | 36 | 12.3:1 | 55% (245) |
| 2017-18 | 375 | 30.5 | 12.3:1 | 64% (240) |
| 2015-16 | 449 | 31 | 14.5:1 | 66% (298) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Clift Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 20% (375 to 449); teachers up 17% (30.5 to 35.8).
About Clift Elementary School
At 650 PARKS SCHOOL HOUSE RD in WAXAHACHIE, Texas, Clift Elementary School operates as a medium-sized elementary school. A total of 449 students attend the school, which covers kindergarten through 5.
Clift Elementary School reports to WAXAHACHIE ISD, which has 18 schools and 11,196 students.
Black students form the largest group at Clift Elementary School, 38% of enrollment. Other groups include 35% Hispanic, 22% White, and 4% multiracial. By comparison, Ellis County residents are about 15% Black. The chance that two students picked at random at Clift Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 68%.
The teaching staff at Clift Elementary School is 35.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 12.5:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Texas is 15.1:1, higher than at this school. About 67% of students, or 300, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 51% average among public schools in Ellis County.
Compared with Texas schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Clift Elementary School scores 17.8 points lower than predicted. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 27.4%; the prediction is 45.2%.
Clift Elementary School is located in Ellis County, where median household income is about $99,595, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 30%, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Clift Elementary School is one of 83 public schools in Ellis County, which together enroll about 46,344 students.
The nearest other public school, Turner Prekindergarten Academy, is about 0.9 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Rural: Fringe, meaning it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
In 2020-21, Clift Elementary School enrolled 442; in 2024-25, 449.
Posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Ellis County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
213,160
Census ACS
Median income
$99,595
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
46,344 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in WAXAHACHIE ISD
- Waxahachie High SchoolHigh · 3,056 students
- Howard Junior High SchoolMiddle · 918 students
- Finley Junior High SchoolMiddle · 839 students
- Coleman Junior High SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Wedgeworth Elementary SchoolElementary · 594 students
- Simpson Elementary SchoolElementary · 592 students
Other schools in WAXAHACHIE
- Waxahachie High SchoolHigh · 3,056 students
- Life H S WaxahachieHigh · 1,114 students
- Howard Junior High SchoolMiddle · 918 students
- Finley Junior High SchoolMiddle · 839 students
- Coleman Junior High SchoolMiddle · 775 students
- Wedgeworth Elementary SchoolElementary · 594 students
Nearby schools
- Turner Prekindergarten Academy0.9 mi · 256
- Ellis Co JJAEP1.8 mi · 1
- Ellis Co JJAEP1.8 mi · 1
- Ellis Co JJAEP1.8 mi · 6
- Ellis Co JJAEP1.8 mi · 3
- Ellis Co JJAEP1.8 mi · 1
Frequently asked questions
About Clift Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Clift Elementary School?
Clift Elementary School enrolls approximately 449 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Clift Elementary School serve?
Clift Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many teachers does Clift Elementary School have?
Clift Elementary School employs 36 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.5:1.
How diverse is Clift Elementary School?
Clift Elementary School reports a student body of 22% White, 35% Hispanic, 38% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Clift Elementary School?
Clift Elementary School is overseen by WAXAHACHIE ISD in Ellis County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.