1
What's something COTTONWOOD EL does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,023
Elementary
DISTRICT 1,011 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CLEVELAND ISD·NCES 481437013664
Cottonwood Elementary School
1922 RD 3549, CLEVELAND, TX 77327 · (281) 761-7540 · Liberty County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,023 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of Texas public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Texas public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
69 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
95%
969 students
DISTRICT 93% · 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 | 132 | 13% |
| Kindergarten | 138 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 141 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 149 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 151 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 148 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 164 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (138) is 16% smaller than its 5th grade class (164).
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 24% · 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
39.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +21.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
32.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +6.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 39 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 21 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 6 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 16.0% | 23.0% | 25.0% | 36.0% |
| Mathematics | 11.0% | 21.0% | 24.0% | 44.0% |
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 | 39.0% | 32.0% |
| 2024-25 | 30.0% | 25.0% |
| 2023-24 | 25.0% | 29.0% |
| 2022-23 | 27.0% | 30.0% |
| 2021-22 | 29.0% | 22.0% |
| 2020-21 | 18.0% | 26.0% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
23.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.2%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 23% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Texas's top nor bottom 10%.
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 Cottonwood Elementary School
Cottonwood Elementary School's state test result (23.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood Elementary School this school | 1,023 | 94.7% | 23.3% |
| Pine Burr Elementary School CLEVELAND | 1,017 | 95.5% | 15.8% |
| Southside Elementary School CLEVELAND | 1,016 | 94.1% | 21.9% |
| Santa Fe Elementary School CLEVELAND | 1,072 | 97.5% | 19.4% |
| Dr Linda Henrie Elementary School DALLAS | 891 | 93.7% | 41.3% |
| Iltexas Msg Ramirez Elementary School CLEVELAND | 895 | 95.0% | 12.2% |
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 Cottonwood Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Liberty County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 23.3% | #4,147 of 4,401 | #9 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 32.0% | #3,729 of 4,466 ▲ 358 | #5 of 17 ▲ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #3,740 of 4,466 ▲ 426 | #10 of 17 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.0pp | #1,851 of 3,998 | #5 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,023 | #89 of 4,938 | #3 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #2,211 of 4,622 | #4 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.1% | #3,856 of 4,628 | #14 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 94.7% | #551 of 4,789 | #4 of 19 |
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
1,023
-33 (-3%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 17.6:1
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 | 1,023 | 69.3 | 14.8:1 | 95% (969) |
| 2023-24 | 1,116 | 70.7 | 15.8:1 | 97% (1,081) |
| 2022-23 | 827 | 67.5 | 12.3:1 | 97% (802) |
| 2020-21 | 1,056 | 60 | 17.6:1 | 99% (1,042) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cottonwood Elementary School.
About Cottonwood Elementary School
Cottonwood Elementary School is a large elementary school in CLEVELAND, Texas. The school's 1,023 students are in pre-K through 5. Enrollment is 97% higher than the average for elementary schools in Texas, which is about 519.
Cottonwood Elementary School is part of a district of 11 schools: CLEVELAND ISD, with 12,513 students.
About 91% of the student body at Cottonwood Elementary School is Hispanic. Smaller groups are 5% White and 2% Black. County-wide, 40% of Liberty County residents are Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 17%, meaning two students picked at random have a 17% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
At Cottonwood Elementary School, 69.3 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 14.8:1. That matches the 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas fairly closely. Roughly 95% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Liberty County, the average eligibility rate is 80%.
allk12 grades Cottonwood Elementary School a D. The grade compares the school only with Texas public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Cottonwood Elementary School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 23.3% is 10.0 points below the 33.2% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Census Bureau estimates for Liberty County show that the median household income is $68,703, 12% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 16% of people live in poverty. Cottonwood Elementary School is one of 41 public schools in the county.
Of nearby public schools, Santa Fe Elementary School is the closest, at about 2.6 miles. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Nearby schools average 18.5% on proficiency, and Cottonwood Elementary School is above that at 23.3%.
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.
Federal data show a 3% enrollment decrease, from 1,056 in 2020-21 to 1,023 in 2024-25. Students per teacher fell from 17.6 in 2020-21 to 14.8 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Cottonwood Elementary School may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Liberty County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
103,380
Census ACS
Median income
$68,703
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
12%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
41
27,599 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in CLEVELAND ISD
- Cleveland High SchoolHigh · 3,627 students
- Cleveland Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,446 students
- Santa Fe Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,117 students
- Northside Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,073 students
- Santa Fe Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,072 students
- Pine Burr Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,017 students
Other schools in CLEVELAND
- Cleveland High SchoolHigh · 3,627 students
- Cleveland Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,446 students
- Santa Fe Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,117 students
- Northside Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,073 students
- Santa Fe Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,072 students
- Pine Burr Elementary SchoolElementary · 1,017 students
Other Cottonwood Elementary schools
20 other US public schools in 12 states are named Cottonwood Elementary. Cottonwood Elementary School is the largest of the 21.
- Cottonwood ElementaryHesperia, CA · 868 students
- COTTONWOOD ELEMENTARYCARLSBAD, NM · 684 students
- COTTONWOOD ELEMENTARYRIGBY, ID · 682 students
- Cottonwood ElementaryPalmdale, CA · 652 students
- Cottonwood Elementary SchoolFernley, NV · 572 students
Nearby schools
- Santa Fe Elementary School2.6 mi · 1,072
- Santa Fe Middle School2.7 mi · 1,117
- Pine Burr Elementary School3.5 mi · 1,017
- Iltexas Bg Ramirez Elementary School3.5 mi · 888
- Iltexas Bg Ramirez Middle School3.5 mi · 418
- Iltexas Msg Ramirez Middle School4.0 mi · 455
Frequently asked questions
About Cottonwood Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Cottonwood Elementary School?
Cottonwood Elementary School enrolls approximately 1,023 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Cottonwood Elementary School serve?
Cottonwood Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Cottonwood Elementary School is approximately 14.8:1 (69 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Cottonwood Elementary School?
At Cottonwood Elementary School, the student body is approximately 5% White, 91% Hispanic, 2% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is Cottonwood Elementary School public or private?
Cottonwood Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by CLEVELAND ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.