TOM C GOOCH EL vs JACK LOWE SR EL

Tom C Gooch El and Jack Lowe Sr El sit just 5.7 miles apart in Dallas, Texas, and their overall ratings are virtually identical — both score 9.2/10 — with state ranks of #72 and #74 out of 8,547 Texas schools, respectively. At that level of the ranking table, the difference between second and fourth place on the same block is negligible; parents choosing between these two schools are choosing between genuine high performers, not a strong option and a weaker one.

Where the schools diverge is in their academic and growth scores. Jack Lowe Sr El holds a 9.8/10 academic score against Tom C Gooch El's 9.0/10 — a 0.8-point gap that, at this tier, is meaningful. Jack Lowe Sr El's growth score of 9.9/10 also outpaces Tom C Gooch El's 9.4/10, indicating that students at Jack Lowe Sr El are advancing at a slightly faster rate relative to expectations, regardless of where they start.

The two schools differ more sharply in size and staffing. Tom C Gooch El enrolls 355 students with an 11.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while Jack Lowe Sr El serves 549 students at a 15.2:1 ratio — a gap of 3.4 students per teacher. Both schools draw heavily from economically disadvantaged families: Tom C Gooch El's free and reduced-price lunch rate is 90%, and Jack Lowe Sr El's is 97%. That near-parity on the FRL measure makes Jack Lowe Sr El's stronger academic and growth scores especially notable — it is outperforming an already-excellent peer school while serving a higher-need student population.

Both schools cover the same grade span, PK through 5th grade, so families with children entering pre-K through the end of elementary will find the same programmatic range at either campus. The structural difference is classroom density: Tom C Gooch El offers roughly one fewer student for every four teachers compared to Jack Lowe Sr El, a concrete advantage for families who prioritize smaller class sizes.