Enrollment
386
Elementary
DISTRICT 515 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HOUSTON ISD·NCES 482364002495
McGowen Elementary School
6820 HOMESTEAD RD, HOUSTON, TX 77028 · (713) 636-6979 · Harris County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL386 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 45% of Texas public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- A-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
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
374 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 75 | 19% |
| Kindergarten | 53 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 50 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 49 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 65 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 53 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 41 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (53) is 29% larger than its 5th grade class (41).
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
McGowen Elementary School→Key Middle School
Based on published attendance-zone data from HOUSTON ISD. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
46.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +40.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
49.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +43.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 49 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 40 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 43 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 22.0% | 24.0% | 29.0% | 25.0% |
| Mathematics | 17.0% | 32.0% | 26.0% | 25.0% |
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 | 46.0% | 49.0% |
| 2024-25 | 46.0% | 42.0% |
| 2023-24 | 39.0% | 35.0% |
| 2022-23 | 30.0% | 32.0% |
| 2021-22 | 33.0% | 35.0% |
| 2020-21 | 6.0% | 6.0% |
% 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
34.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.3%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% 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 McGowen Elementary School
McGowen Elementary School's state test result (34.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| McGowen Elementary School this school | 386 | 96.9% | 34.5% |
| Ervin Elementary School LUBBOCK | 396 | 95.7% | 36.0% |
| John T White Elementary School FORT WORTH | 369 | 95.1% | 29.1% |
| Frost Elementary School HOUSTON | 402 | 98.0% | 30.9% |
| Law Elementary School HOUSTON | 426 | 95.8% | 24.4% |
| Frederick Douglass Elementary School DALLAS | 453 | 96.2% | 32.0% |
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 McGowen Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Harris County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.5% | #3,217 of 4,401 | #456 of 624 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.0% | #1,857 of 4,466 ▲ 594 | #250 of 625 ▲ 95 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.0% | #3,025 of 4,466 ▼ 101 | #418 of 625 ▼ 21 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +16.5pp | #747 of 3,998 | #101 of 603 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 386 | #3,598 of 4,938 | #555 of 682 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #2,305 of 4,622 | #307 of 657 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.7% | #2,526 of 4,628 | #346 of 657 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.9% | #291 of 4,789 | #85 of 671 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.3% | #1,400 of 2,838 | #253 of 441 |
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
386
-19 (-5%) vs 2020
-33% since 1990-91, when it was 573
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 | 386 | 26 | 14.8:1 | 97% (374) |
| 2023-24 | 352 | 37.8 | 9.3:1 | 97% (343) |
| 2022-23 | 385 | 21.5 | 17.9:1 | 99% (380) |
| 2020-21 | 405 | 23 | 17.6:1 | 99% (399) |
| 2017-18 | 467 | 24.9 | 18.7:1 | 86% (403) |
| 2015-16 | 448 | 24 | 18.7:1 | 79% (353) |
| 2010-11 | 362 | 21 | 17.2:1 | 47% (170) |
| 2000-01 | 428 | 17 | 25.2:1 | 93% (398) |
| 1990-91 | 573 | 33 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for McGowen Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (467 to 386); teachers up 4% (24.9 to 26).
About McGowen Elementary School
As a low-enrollment elementary school, McGowen Elementary School serves students in HOUSTON, Texas. The school counted 386 students in 2024-25, covering pre-K through 5. That is 26% below the average of about 519 students for elementary schools in Texas.
McGowen Elementary School is run by HOUSTON ISD, whose 273 schools enroll 176,727 students.
The largest group at McGowen Elementary School is Black students, at 61%. Enrollment also includes 38% Hispanic. Among people living in Harris County, the Black share is about 19%. The diversity index for McGowen Elementary School is 49%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school had 26 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 14.8:1. The 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas is close to this figure. The school reported 97% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. The 70% average for public schools in Harris County is 27 points lower.
Among Texas public elementary schools, McGowen Elementary School outscored 45%, which works out to a B- on the allk12 Grade.
McGowen Elementary School is 2.1 points above its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results (34.5% versus 32.3%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Texas.
The school's county is Harris County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $74,983, 34% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 13% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Harris County's 1,205 public schools enroll about 886,911 students and include McGowen Elementary School.
Measured in a straight line, Kashmere High School is about 0.9 miles from McGowen Elementary School. The five-mile area around McGowen Elementary School holds at least 8 other public schools. McGowen Elementary School comes in 3rd of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.
McGowen Elementary School is coded as City: Large in federal locale data.
A 5% decline took enrollment from 405 in 2020-21 to 386 in 2024-25. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 17.6:1; by 2024-25 it was 14.8:1.
On allk12, people connected to McGowen Elementary School can post about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Harris County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
4,838,303
Census ACS
Median income
$74,983
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,205
886,911 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in HOUSTON ISD
- Texas Connections Academy at HoustonCombined · 8,641 students
- Bellaire High SchoolHigh · 3,216 students
- Lamar High SchoolHigh · 2,968 students
- Westside High SchoolHigh · 2,729 students
- Heights High SchoolHigh · 2,426 students
- Houston Math Science and Technology CenterHigh · 2,396 students
Other schools in HOUSTON
- Texas Connections Academy at HoustonCombined · 8,641 students
- North Shore Senior HighHigh · 4,284 students
- Elsik High SchoolHigh · 4,057 students
- Summer Creek High SchoolHigh · 3,972 students
- Hastings High SchoolHigh · 3,786 students
- C E King High SchoolHigh · 3,716 students
Nearby schools
- Kashmere High School0.9 mi · 655
- Cook Jr Elementary School1.2 mi · 453
- Kashmere Gardens Elementary School1.5 mi · 329
- Elmore Elementary School1.7 mi · 443
- Blessed Kidz1.8 mi · 5
- Key Middle School1.9 mi · 516
Frequently asked questions
About McGowen Elementary SchoolHow many students attend McGowen Elementary School?
McGowen Elementary School enrolls approximately 386 students in grades PK-05.
Is McGowen Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
McGowen Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does McGowen Elementary School have?
McGowen Elementary School employs 26 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at McGowen Elementary School?
At McGowen Elementary School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 38% Hispanic, 61% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is McGowen Elementary School public or private?
McGowen Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by HOUSTON ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.