Caldwell vs Carver Elementary: Round Rock ISD vs Georgetown ISD (2025)

Same Williamson County, Two Very Different K-5 Stories

Caldwell Elementary pulled a B (82/100) from TEA in 2025 while Carver Elementary landed a C (79/100), and that 3-point gap is the smallest, least interesting thing about comparing these two campuses. The real story is in what each school does well, who lives in the zone, and which middle and high school your kid lands in five years from now.

Both campuses sit in Williamson County, which means buyers shopping Round Rock and Georgetown end up comparing them constantly. I get the question almost every week. So lets actually walk through the data, the zoning, and the feeder paths, and then I will tell you who I think each school fits best.

One quick note on TEA scoring before we dive in. The Texas Education Agency rates schools on three domains (Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gaps), not four. Academic Growth is a sub-measure inside School Progress, not its own domain, which trips up a lot of comparison sites including some bigger ones than mine. Elementary schools can earn up to six distinction designations, not seven. Just so we are on the same page when you see the numbers below.

Caldwell vs Carver Elementary: Quick Comparison

Caldwell is a primary campus, not a K-5. It only runs through 3rd grade, which is unusual and worth understanding before you buy. Round Rock ISD pairs Caldwell with an intermediate campus that picks up 4th and 5th. Carver runs the full EE-5 you would expect from an elementary school, so the comparison is not quite apples-to-apples on grade range.

TEA School Performance Comparison (2025)

The Texas Education Agency evaluates Texas public schools across three accountability domains. Here is how each campus performed in the 2025 cycle.

Look at School Progress. Caldwell hit an 85, Carver hit an 81, and both are well into B territory in the domain that measures how well a school is moving students forward over time. That is the number I pay attention to with elementary campuses, more than the raw Student Achievement score, because Achievement is heavily influenced by who walks in the door each year.

The economically disadvantaged gap (68.3% vs 42.6%) is real, and it explains a chunk of the Closing the Gaps tie. Caldwell is moving a much higher-need student population to a similar Closing the Gaps score, which is genuinely impressive when you sit with it for a minute.

For the full TEA breakdown and rating history on each campus, see the Caldwell Elementary school page or the Carver Elementary school page.

Caldwell Elementary: The Round Rock ISD Primary Campus

Caldwell sits inside Round Rock ISD, which is one of the larger and more resourced districts in Central Texas. The campus serves grades EE through 3, then hands students off to a Round Rock ISD intermediate school for 4th and 5th. If you have never lived in a district that splits elementary into a primary and intermediate, it can feel a little disorienting at first, but it works fine in practice.

Round Rock ISD has the depth that comes with serving tens of thousands of students. Gifted and talented programming, fine arts integration, dual language paths, and special education supports are all in place. The 2025 B rating, plus a 5-year rating trend that went C-A-C-B-B, tells you Caldwell is operating at a solid B-level consistently, with one A year in the post-COVID rebound and no truly weak years on the record.

The 68.3% economically disadvantaged figure also matters for context. Caldwell is not the most affluent campus in RRISD, and it pulls a B anyway. That is a meaningful signal about teaching quality and school leadership.

Carver Elementary: Georgetown ISD’s Established Campus

Carver is the bigger campus by enrollment (709 vs 615) and the more conventional one in structure, running the full EE-5 you would expect. It sits inside Georgetown ISD, a smaller and faster-growing district than Round Rock that has built a strong identity around the Georgetown community.

Carver’s 2025 C (79/100) is steady. The 5-year trend, D-B-C-C-C, shows a campus that climbed out of a 2019 D and has held a consistent C-level since. School Progress at 81 is the bright spot, telling you the campus is moving students forward at a B-level pace even when raw Achievement scores sit at a C.

The Neighborhoods

The Caldwell Elementary zone covers a slice of Round Rock that has been residential for a long time. Established single-story and two-story homes on traditional lots, with a few newer subdivisions added in as the city has grown. Median closing price over the trailing 12 months was $350,000 across 52 closed single-family sales. That is meaningfully below the regional median, which makes Caldwell zone homes a real entry point for buyers who want RRISD without an Eanes or Westwood-zone price tag.

The Carver Elementary zone sits inside Georgetown itself, with everything from cottages near the historic square to newer master-planned construction on the city’s edges. Median closing price was $392,490 across 171 closed sales, which is a much bigger sample because Georgetown has been one of the fastest-growing cities in the country for several years running. Carver pulls from a deep and varied housing stock.

Browse all homes zoned to Caldwell Elementary or homes zoned to Carver Elementary to see current active inventory in each zone.

Feeder Patterns: Where Your Kid Ends Up at 18

This is the part most buyers skip and later regret. Your elementary choice locks in a path through middle and high school, and the high school is honestly where the school decision starts mattering most.

Caldwell students typically advance to a Round Rock ISD middle school based on their specific address, then to either Round Rock High School or Westwood High School. Westwood is one of the highest-rated public high schools in the state. Round Rock High School is a flagship campus with deep AP and CTE programming. Both are strong outcomes.

Carver students typically advance to either Tippit Middle School or Benold Middle School, then to either Georgetown High School or East View High School. Both Georgetown ISD high schools are solid B-level campuses with AP, CTE, and strong fine arts traditions, just at a smaller scale than the RRISD options.

Verify your exact feeder assignment with the district before you write an offer. Boundaries can shift, especially in growing zones, and a 200-foot difference can change which middle school your kid attends.

Which School Fits You?

Honest take, because that is what I owe you.

You might lean toward Caldwell Elementary if:

• You want RRISD’s depth of programming and the option of a Westwood or Round Rock HS feeder eight years from now
• The $350K median price point in the zone fits your budget better than Georgetown
• You are comfortable with the primary/intermediate split and the EE-3 grade range at Caldwell itself
• You value a campus that pulls a B rating with a higher economically disadvantaged share, which usually correlates with strong teaching and leadership

You might lean toward Carver Elementary if:

• You want a traditional EE-5 elementary experience on one campus
• The Georgetown lifestyle (historic square, San Gabriel River, Wolf Ranch) is part of why you are moving here
• You want a high feeder option at Georgetown HS or East View, both solid B-level high schools at a smaller scale than RRISD

If I had to pick one based purely on the 2025 TEA numbers, Caldwell is the stronger campus by 3 points overall and 4 points in School Progress, and it is doing that with a tougher demographic mix. But if Georgetown is where you want to live, and the historic square is the thing pulling you north, then Carver is a perfectly fine elementary inside a district that is investing seriously in its schools. Pick the neighborhood you actually want to live in, then verify the school zone, not the other way around.

Ready to Find Your Home?

Picking a school zone is one of the most consequential decisions you make as a buyer, and the math gets complicated fast when you are weighing TEA scores, feeder patterns, median prices, and which neighborhood actually feels right. I have helped buyers sort through this exact comparison hundreds of times over 19+ years, and lets be honest, a 30-minute conversation usually saves people weeks of confusion.

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