School Comparison: Leander/Cedar Park VS. Round Rock (Austin, Plano: real estate, house)

[poohbaby518]

Our family is considering a relocation to the Austin area and we're looking at real estate listings in Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock. Our realtor told us that most folks prefer the part of Round Rock that is west of I-35. She couldn't say specifically why, but she thought the reason might be the quality of the local schools.

Can anyone share their thoughts on the neighborhoods in Round Rock on either side of I-35? Is there a difference? How do Round Rock - West and Round Rock - East compare to Leander/Cedar Park?

Thanks!

[shankaupas]

I live in South East Round Rock and I have been very happy with the elementary school that my kids attend. There are some older and newer master planned neighborhoods in this area with housing ranging from the mid 100K up to 600K. The high school they will feed into will change next year when the new Cedar Ridge HS opens. The current high school they would feed into is Stony Point. It gets a bad rap because there is a larger number of economically disadvantaged kids feeding into this school than the other schools. But I understand the bad perception is way overblown and I would not hesitate to send my kids there. You can check out this website to get some info on the schools in Round Rock ISD and Leander ISD: GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community.

The East side of Round Rock tends to be flatter with less trees although the area I am in is hilly and more wooded. The West side of Round Rock tends to be more hilly and wooded.

[poohbaby518]

Originally Posted by shankaupas

The current high school they would feed into is Stony Point. It gets a bad rap because there is a larger number of economically disadvantaged kids feeding into this school than the other schools. But I understand the bad perception is way overblown and I would not hesitate to send my kids there.

I appreciate your insight regarding the area.

Are there certain parts of town in Round Rock that primarily consist of "economically disadvanataged kids?" I'm just curious if the town is segregated into an affluent community and what is typically labled, "the poor part of town."

Thanks!

[shankaupas]

The town is not segregated. There are neighborhoods with lower income housing right next to neighborhoods with higher income housing. This is the case on both sides of I35. There really is no bad or ghetto area of Round Rock. There are some neighborhoods that are older and more run down but even those areas are not what I would consider avoidable.

[texastea]

Generally speaking, McNeil HS and Westwood HS have better reputations than Stony Point and Round Rock HS. That may be what the realtor is talking about. RRISD schools that serve far northwest Austin are excellent.

We chose LISD over RRISD when we were building our house several years ago and have loved the schools.

[hound 109]

The LISD & RRISD schools that are IN (or almost in) the city of Austin have much higher test scores than the LISD & RRISD schools that are further east (or northeast).

The "reputation" is based on school TAKs scores. Basically, any LISD or RRISD school that is west of 183 & south of 620 will have the highest test scoring schools. Some of these schools are the highest ranked in the metro area (& possibly the state).

[shankaupas]

Originally Posted by hound 109

The LISD & RRISD schools that are IN (or almost in) the city of Austin have much higher test scores than the LISD & RRISD schools that are further east (or northeast).

The "reputation" is based on school TAKs scores. Basically, any LISD or RRISD school that is west of 183 & south of 620 will have the highest test scoring schools. Some of these schools are the highest ranked in the metro area (& possibly the state).

I would say that the schools in West RRISD have much higher scores than most of the schools in East RRISD, but not all. Especially at the elementary level. Just look at the GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community site to get a good picture of where the best performing schools are. There are great neighborhoods and good schools in all areas of Round Rock ISD.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by hound 109

The LISD & RRISD schools that are IN (or almost in) the city of Austin have much higher test scores than the LISD & RRISD schools that are further east (or northeast).

The "reputation" is based on school TAKs scores. Basically, any LISD or RRISD school that is west of 183 & south of 620 will have the highest test scoring schools. Some of these schools are the highest ranked in the metro area (& possibly the state).

I'm not sure that I agree with those boundaries. Are you referring to just High Schools? I couldn't find a good list that details LISD, but the link below shows that there are a bunch of Exemplary rated schools East of 183 and North of 620.

Round Rock ISD : TEA Ratings

[texasdiver]

As a high school teacher I'd have the following comments about school quality generally.

First, most of the high schools in the newer upscale suburbs around Texas are going to be just fine. Whether it's Round Rock, Katy, Plano, Keller, Westlake, etc. Any time you have a critical mass of engaged middle and upper middle class parents the schools are going to be OK.

you should be somewhat cautious about using TAKS scores to evaluate school quality because of the way the state classifies schools. To achieve exemplary or recognized status a school has to achieve a certain passing rate for every single subpopulation on every single test for every single grade level. There are 4 main subpopulations (Anglo, Hispanic, black, and economically disdvantaged and a student can be in more than one subpopulation). And there are 10 TAKS tests given at the HS level across all grades and subjects. So a school of say 2000 students can actually find itself dropping from exemplary to recognized or even lower just because say.... only 18 out of their 25 Hispanic 9th grade students passed the science TAKS instead of the required 20 out of 25 to meet the passing percentages for every subgroup, grade and test.

Obviously a completely homogeneous school of 2000 upper class white kids is going to have an easier time getting exemplary status because they have 4x less subgroups that they need to track and have pass individually. A much more reasonable way to compare two schools...say Round Rock and Westwood HS would be to look at the passing rates for your child's subgroup. They are probably very nearly identical. You'd also want to look at things like average SAT scores and the number and percentage of AP classes and passing rates on the AP exams.

That said, perception also becomes reality in Texas as upscale suburban parents flock like locusts to the newest subdivisions with the newest schools. And real estate values are governed to some extent by things like TAKS scores.

Either way, if you are living in a community where the other parents share your values and are equally engaged in the school system then the schools will probably be fine. If you are living in a community where you are the lone parents who really care, or you are surrounded by non-parent elderly or young single types then you may need to be concerned about the schools.

[woodinvilleguy]

Of course with the 10% rule.... maybe it is better to send your kid to the worst school possible so they are guaranteed to be in the top 10%.