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What's the biggest difference between WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
529
Elementary
DISTRICT 475 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GARLAND ISD·NCES 482034002050
WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER
2601 DAIRY RD, GARLAND, TX 75041 · (972) 926-2600 · Dallas County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL529 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.6:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
302 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
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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
78.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +36.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
74.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +35.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 78 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 74 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 36 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 35 points.
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
65.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.3%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+15.9pp
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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
529
-54 (-9%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
16.8:1
was 17.9:1
% White
12%
was 22%
% Hispanic
56%
was 40%
% Black
17%
was 20%
% Asian
11%
was 12%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER
WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER is a moderately sized K-5 school in GARLAND, Texas, overseen by GARLAND ISD. The school teaches 529 students in grades K through 5.
WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER is one of 76 schools operated by GARLAND ISD, a district that educates 53,173 students overall.
For racial and ethnic makeup, WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER shows that the largest single group is Hispanic, at 56% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school records 17% Black, 12% White, 11% Asian, 4% multiracial. By comparison, Dallas County as a whole is about 41% Hispanic, so the school skews visibly more Hispanic than its surroundings.
Looking at the economic backdrop, On paper, WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER has 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 16.8:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 15.1:1, putting WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER higher than the state norm the norm. About 57% of enrolled students meet the income threshold for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy. Set against Dallas County (around 77%), the school's rate is south of typical.
After controlling for student poverty, WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER sits in the top 10% of Texas schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 49.3%; actual is 65.2%, +15.9 points clear of the demographic baseline.
In the area at large, Dallas County reports that median household income runs about $76,547, roughly 36% of adults have completed at least a four-year degree, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER is one of 771 public schools in Dallas County (combined enrollment of about 459,645 students).
The closest other public school is HILLSIDE ACAD FOR EXCEL, roughly 0.6 miles away. Within five miles, there are 8 other public schools. On composite proficiency, WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER comes 2nd of 6 in the immediate cluster, higher than the nearby-schools average of 53.1%.
Geographically, the school is in an outer-ring area.
Over the past 7-year window. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 9%: 583 students in 2018 compared to 529 in 2025. Hispanic enrollment moved from 40% to 56% across the same window. The student-to-teacher ratio pulled in from 17.9:1 in 2018 to 16.8:1 today.
On this page, the page collects discussion, questions, and updates around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. 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 H SHigh · 2,935 students
- N GARLAND H SHigh · 2,929 students
- GARLAND H SHigh · 2,335 students
- ROWLETT H SHigh · 2,156 students
- LAKEVIEW CENTENNIAL H SHigh · 2,073 students
- S GARLAND H SHigh · 2,001 students
Other schools in GARLAND
- N GARLAND H SHigh · 2,929 students
- GARLAND H SHigh · 2,335 students
- LAKEVIEW CENTENNIAL H SHigh · 2,073 students
- S GARLAND H SHigh · 2,001 students
- NAAMAN FOREST H SHigh · 1,949 students
- JACKSON TECHNOLOGY CENTERMiddle · 1,157 students
Nearby schools
- HILLSIDE ACAD FOR EXCEL0.6 mi · 446
- CENTERVILLE EL0.6 mi · 278
- CISNEROS PRE-K CTR0.6 mi · 355
- GARLAND AEC0.6 mi · 112
- KIMBERLIN ACAD FOR EXCEL0.8 mi · 474
- AUSTIN ACAD FOR EXCELL0.8 mi · 951
Frequently asked questions
About WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTERHow large is WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER?
WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER enrolls approximately 529 students in grades KG-05.
Is WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER an elementary, middle, or high school?
WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER?
The student-to-teacher ratio at WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER is approximately 16.8:1 (32 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER?
Student demographics at WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER are roughly 12% White, 56% Hispanic, 17% Black, 11% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER in?
WATSON TECHNOLOGY CENTER is part of GARLAND ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.