CEDAR CREST EL vs JACK LOWE SR EL

Cedar Crest El and Jack Lowe Sr El sit within the top 100 elementary schools in Texas out of 8,547 statewide — an exceptional starting point for any family weighing this decision. Cedar Crest El ranks #35 with an overall rating of 9.4/10, while Jack Lowe Sr El ranks #74 at 9.2/10. That 0.2-point overall gap is narrow, but the story shifts considerably when you look beneath the composite score.

Academically, the two schools diverge in a notable and somewhat counterintuitive way. Jack Lowe Sr El scores 9.8/10 in academics versus Cedar Crest El's 8.7/10 — a 1.1-point advantage for Jack Lowe that reflects stronger tested proficiency outcomes. Cedar Crest El answers with a near-perfect growth score of 10.0/10 compared to Jack Lowe Sr El's 9.9/10, meaning both schools are exceptional at accelerating student progress, but Cedar Crest El edges Jack Lowe by a razor-thin margin there. Families prioritizing current academic achievement levels should weigh Jack Lowe's 9.8 academic score heavily; families prioritizing year-over-year learning gains will find either school outstanding.

Both schools serve very similar populations by economic measure — Cedar Crest El at 99% free and reduced lunch, Jack Lowe Sr El at 97% — so neither school has a demographic advantage in comparison. Where the two diverge operationally is class size. Cedar Crest El carries a student-teacher ratio of 11.3:1 against Jack Lowe Sr El's 15.2:1, meaning Cedar Crest El averages roughly four fewer students per teacher. Cedar Crest El also enrolls 373 students total versus Jack Lowe Sr El's 549, making it the smaller campus by 176 students — a meaningful difference in school feel for families who prefer a tighter-knit environment.

On grade structure, Cedar Crest El serves PreK through 6th grade, while Jack Lowe Sr El tops out at 5th grade. Families with a child entering 6th grade will find only Cedar Crest El as a viable choice between the two. The schools sit 9.5 miles apart in Dallas, so geography rather than quality will likely be the deciding factor for many families — both are genuinely elite options within the Dallas school landscape.