Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
HIGHTOWER EL
School pathway
Test scores
STAAR 2023-24 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveWhat this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 81 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 77 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 52 and 42. Reading scores are up about 12 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 15 points.
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyWhat this means: About 72% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 65% 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%.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25About HIGHTOWER EL
HIGHTOWER EL, a mid-sized elementary-level community in PLANO, Texas, overseen by PLANO ISD, caters to 448 students, covering grades pre-K through 5.
HIGHTOWER EL is one of 73 schools operated by PLANO ISD, a district that enrolls 46,612 students overall.
Demographically, HIGHTOWER EL lists that the largest single group is White at 38%, but no single group is in the majority. Other groups include 22% Asian, 17% Hispanic, 13% Black, 10% multiracial. By comparison, Collin County as a whole is about 54% White, so the school skews meaningfully less White than its surroundings.
Looking at school resources, On paper, HIGHTOWER EL has 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 14.0:1. The state averages around 15.1:1, so this campus is tighter than the state norm typical. An estimated 21% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Collin County (around 30%), the school's rate is somewhat below typical.
With demographic context factored in, HIGHTOWER EL performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 64.7%, the actual is 71.7%, a residual of +7.0 points.
Around the school, census data for Collin County shows the typical household earns roughly $121,600 per year, 56% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 5%. HIGHTOWER EL is one of 338 public schools in Collin County (combined enrollment of about 227,575 students).
Nearest neighbor: BEATY EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL, around 0.8 miles off. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts HIGHTOWER EL at 2nd of 8; the average score across the group is 55.5%.
The campus sits in a city-core setting.
Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at HIGHTOWER EL has shrank 21%, going from 566 students in 2018 to 448 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 48% to 38% across the same window.
Inside the community feed, members of the HIGHTOWER EL community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Collin County at a glance
View full county profileQuick facts
Related schools
- PLANO EAST SR H SHigh · 3,033 students
- PLANO WEST SENIOR H SHigh · 2,559 students
- PLANO SR H SHigh · 2,267 students
- SHEPTON H SHigh · 1,360 students
- JASPER H SHigh · 1,301 students
- RENNER MIDDLEMiddle · 1,137 students
- PLANO EAST SR H SHigh · 3,033 students
- PLANO WEST SENIOR H SHigh · 2,559 students
- PLANO SR H SHigh · 2,267 students
- SHEPTON H SHigh · 1,360 students
- JASPER H SHigh · 1,301 students
- RENNER MIDDLEMiddle · 1,137 students
- BEATY EARLY CHILDHOOD SCHOOL0.8 mi · 281
- CENTENNIAL EL0.9 mi · 462
- DAFFRON EL1.1 mi · 604
- SAIGLING EL1.3 mi · 309
- WELLS EL1.6 mi · 463
- HARMONY SCIENCE ACADEMY - PLANO1.7 mi · 627