C A TATUM JR EL vs BRENTFIELD EL

C A Tatum Jr El and Brentfield El both score 9.3/10 overall, placing them among the strongest elementary schools in Texas — but they sit at different positions in the state rankings. C A Tatum Jr El ranks #79 of 8547 in Texas, putting it just ahead of Brentfield El at #97 of 8547. That 18-spot gap is narrow enough that neither school holds a meaningful overall edge; the real differences emerge when you look beneath the composite score.

On academic proficiency, Brentfield El holds a clear lead: it scores 9.9/10 versus C A Tatum Jr El's 9.0/10 — a full point higher, which reflects meaningfully stronger tested-subject performance across the school. The growth story runs the other direction. C A Tatum Jr El scores 9.7/10 on growth versus Brentfield El's 9.3/10, meaning students at Tatum are making faster academic progress relative to their starting points. A 9.7 growth score is exceptional and suggests Tatum's instructional model is driving gains that raw proficiency numbers don't fully capture.

The demographic and environmental differences between the two schools are substantial. C A Tatum Jr El enrolls 417 students with 98% qualifying for free or reduced lunch, while Brentfield El serves 812 students with only 12% qualifying — nearly the mirror image of each other. Tatum's student-teacher ratio of 12.3:1 is considerably tighter than Brentfield's 14.8:1, meaning Tatum students have more individualized teacher access in smaller classes despite serving a higher-need population.

The two schools differ slightly in grade span as well: C A Tatum Jr El serves PK through 5th grade, while Brentfield El extends one year further through 6th grade, keeping students in the elementary setting longer before the transition to middle school. The 16.6 miles separating these schools makes them realistic alternatives only for families with some flexibility in their geography or open-enrollment options — worth factoring into any comparison alongside the academic data.