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What's one thing HILLSIDE ACAD FOR EXCEL gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
446
Elementary
DISTRICT 475 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GARLAND ISD·NCES 482034002029
Hillside Academy for Excel
600 KEEN DR, GARLAND, TX 75041 · (972) 926-2550 · Dallas County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL446 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of Texas public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C-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
16.1:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.6:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
263 students
DISTRICT 76% · 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 | 63 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 65 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 71 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 82 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 84 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 81 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (63) is 22% smaller than its 5th grade class (81).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
74.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +19.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
67.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +19.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 74 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 67 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 19 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 19 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 53.0% | 21.0% | 16.0% | 10.0% |
| Mathematics | 40.0% | 27.0% | 15.0% | 18.0% |
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 | 74.0% | 67.0% |
| 2024-25 | 76.0% | 66.0% |
| 2023-24 | 74.0% | 68.0% |
| 2022-23 | 75.0% | 75.0% |
| 2021-22 | 75.0% | 73.0% |
| 2020-21 | 55.0% | 48.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
64.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+16.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 65% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 49% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 16 points, placing it in Texas's top 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 Hillside Academy for Excel
Hillside Academy for Excel's state test result (64.7% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillside Academy for Excel this school | 446 | 59.0% | 64.7% |
| Meadows Elementary School MEADOWS PLACE | 425 | 60.0% | 45.5% |
| Walnut Glen Academy for Excel GARLAND | 376 | 59.6% | 85.8% |
| Thornton Elementary School SAN ANTONIO | 573 | 57.1% | 42.1% |
| Beaver Technology Center GARLAND | 562 | 64.8% | 61.6% |
| Watson Technology Center GARLAND | 529 | 57.1% | 65.2% |
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 Hillside Academy for Excel ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Dallas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.7% | #535 of 4,401 | #38 of 421 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 67.0% | #536 of 4,466 ▲ 20 | #48 of 429 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 74.0% | #525 of 4,466 ▼ 75 | #49 of 429 ▼ 8 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.5pp | #710 of 3,998 | #99 of 399 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 446 | #3,055 of 4,938 | #282 of 448 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #3,373 of 4,622 | #317 of 432 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.0% | #887 of 4,628 | #65 of 433 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 59.0% | #3,166 of 4,789 | #362 of 437 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.4% | #968 of 1,307 | #87 of 118 |
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
446
-47 (-10%) vs 2020
+20% since 1990-91, when it was 373
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 15.9:1
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 | 446 | 27.7 | 16.1:1 | 59% (263) |
| 2023-24 | 463 | 30.2 | 15.3:1 | 60% (280) |
| 2022-23 | 468 | 30 | 15.6:1 | 58% (273) |
| 2020-21 | 493 | 31 | 15.9:1 | 60% (298) |
| 2017-18 | 423 | 29.1 | 14.6:1 | 51% (217) |
| 2015-16 | 478 | 31 | 15.4:1 | 52% (247) |
| 2010-11 | 432 | 30 | 14.4:1 | 39% (170) |
| 2000-01 | 413 | 27 | 15.3:1 | 38% (155) |
| 1990-91 | 373 | 21 | 17.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Hillside Academy for Excel.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (423 to 446); teachers down 5% (29.1 to 27.7).
About Hillside Academy for Excel
Hillside Academy for Excel is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as an elementary school in GARLAND, Texas. The school's 446 students are in kindergarten through 5.
Hillside Academy for Excel sits within GARLAND ISD, which has 76 schools and 53,173 students.
Hillside Academy for Excel's enrollment is 52% Hispanic. The remaining shares are 18% Asian, 13% Black, 12% White, and 3% multiracial. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Dallas County's population at about 41%. By the diversity index, Hillside Academy for Excel comes in at 66%.
The count of teachers at Hillside Academy for Excel is 27.7 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 16.1:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Texas is 15.1:1, lower than at this school. Around 59% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Dallas County is 77%.
Measured against Texas public elementary schools, Hillside Academy for Excel receives an A. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Hillside Academy for Excel is in the top 10% of Texas schools: 64.7% actual against 48.5% predicted.
Across Dallas County, median household income is about $76,547, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. Hillside Academy for Excel is among the 771 public schools in Dallas County.
The nearest other public school, Centerville Elementary School, is less than a tenth of a mile away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Hillside Academy for Excel ranks 2nd of 8 on average proficiency.
Locale: Suburb: Large. In NCES terms, the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment was 493 in 2020-21 and 446 in 2024-25, a decrease of 47 students.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Hillside Academy for Excel. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Dallas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,621,179
Census ACS
Median income
$76,547
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
771
459,645 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in GARLAND ISD
- Sachse High SchoolHigh · 2,935 students
- N Garland High SchoolHigh · 2,929 students
- Garland High SchoolHigh · 2,335 students
- Rowlett High SchoolHigh · 2,156 students
- Lakeview Centennial High SchoolHigh · 2,073 students
- S Garland High SchoolHigh · 2,001 students
Other schools in GARLAND
- N Garland High SchoolHigh · 2,929 students
- Garland High SchoolHigh · 2,335 students
- Lakeview Centennial High SchoolHigh · 2,073 students
- S Garland High SchoolHigh · 2,001 students
- Naaman Forest High SchoolHigh · 1,949 students
- Jackson Technology CenterMiddle · 1,157 students
Nearby schools
- Centerville Elementary School0.0 mi · 278
- S Garland High School0.5 mi · 2,001
- Watson Technology Center0.6 mi · 529
- Cisneros Pre-K Center0.6 mi · 355
- Club Hill STEM Elementary School0.7 mi · 443
- Club Hill Elementary School0.7 mi · 196
Frequently asked questions
About Hillside Academy for ExcelHow large is Hillside Academy for Excel?
Hillside Academy for Excel enrolls approximately 446 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Hillside Academy for Excel serve?
Hillside Academy for Excel serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Hillside Academy for Excel?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Hillside Academy for Excel is approximately 16.1:1 (28 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Hillside Academy for Excel?
Hillside Academy for Excel reports a student body of 12% White, 52% Hispanic, 13% Black, 18% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Hillside Academy for Excel public or private?
Hillside Academy for Excel is a public K-12 school, overseen by GARLAND ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.