JAMES BOWIE EL vs TOM C GOOCH EL

Tom C Gooch El ranks #77 of 8,547 Texas schools, placing it in the top 1% statewide. James Bowie El earns a strong #215 of 8,547 — top 3% in Texas — but trails Gooch by 0.3 overall rating points, 9.0 versus 9.3 out of 10. Both schools sit well above the state median, so parents choosing between them are picking between two high performers, not between a strong school and a weak one.

On academics, Tom C Gooch El scores 9.0 to James Bowie El's 8.5 — a half-point gap that reflects meaningfully different proficiency outcomes. Growth scores are closer: Gooch posts a 9.4 versus Bowie's 9.2, a 0.2-point difference indicating both schools accelerate student progress at near-identical rates. The academic gap is the sharper differentiator here, suggesting Gooch students are arriving at — or leaving at — higher tested proficiency levels than their Bowie peers.

Demographically, the two schools are similar in size and population. James Bowie El enrolls 317 students versus Tom C Gooch El's 355. Both serve high-need populations: Bowie's free and reduced-price lunch rate is 96%, compared to 90% at Gooch — a 6-point difference that signals Bowie serves a slightly more economically disadvantaged student body. Bowie's student-teacher ratio of 10.2:1 is tighter than Gooch's 11.8:1, meaning Bowie students get more direct teacher attention on average despite the higher economic need.

Both James Bowie El and Tom C Gooch El serve grades PK through 5, so families with early learners through fifth graders are covered at either campus. The schools sit 11.5 miles apart within Dallas, making geography a practical factor for most families rather than a tie to break. Neither school carries a structural program advantage visible in the available data — the decision hinges on the 0.3-point overall gap, Gooch's higher academic score, and Bowie's lower student-teacher ratio.