Mills vs Boone Elementary: A vs C, Three Miles Apart in Austin ISD

Mills Scored a 94. Boone Scored a 72. They Are Three Miles Apart.

Mills Elementary posted one of the highest scores in Austin ISD with a 94 out of 100 and an A rating. Boone Elementary, sitting just three miles away in southwest Austin, scored a 72 and earned a C. That 22 point gap is significant for two schools that serve adjacent communities in the same district, and it creates one of the starkest value comparisons in the southwest Austin corridor.

The median home prices are closer than you might expect. Mills comes in at $592,400 and Boone at $457,500, a difference of about $135,000. So you get a 22 point TEA score improvement for roughly $135K more in home purchase price. Whether that trade off makes sense depends entirely on your priorities and your budget.

Both schools feed into the Bowie High School pipeline (among other options), and both sit in established southwest Austin neighborhoods with good access to MoPac and Highway 290. Lets dig into the details.

Mills vs Boone: Quick Comparison

TEA School Performance Comparison (2025)

The Texas Education Agency evaluates every public school annually across multiple performance domains. Here is how both campuses performed in the 2025 accountability cycle.

Mills is in the 90s across every domain except Closing the Gaps (89), which is still a B. The School Progress and Academic Growth scores of 95 are among the highest in the entire district. That means students at Mills are not just performing well on absolute measures, they are growing at an exceptional rate from year to year.

Boone sits in the low 70s across all four domains, which keeps it firmly in C territory. But here is the thing that caught my eye: Boone still earned 6 of 7 TEA distinctions. Just like Mills. That means Boone is hitting subject level benchmarks that many higher rated schools miss. The C overall rating masks the fact that the school is excelling in specific academic areas. For a campus with 53.3% economically disadvantaged and 27.8% English learners, earning 6 of 7 distinctions is genuinely impressive work.

For the full TEA breakdown, visit the Mills Elementary school page or the Boone Elementary school page.

Mills Elementary: Austin ISD’s Southwest Star

Mills is one of the top performing elementary schools in Austin ISD, period. The 94 overall score and A rating place it in the same conversation as Casis, Kiker, and the other A rated elementaries that drive premium pricing in their zones. The school feeds into Bedichek, Gorzycki, and Small Middle Schools, with Bowie High School as the primary high school destination.

The neighborhoods around Mills are established southwest Austin communities with homes that range from the mid $400s to over $800K. The campus serves 701 students and the parent community is highly engaged. Mills has earned its reputation through consistent performance, and the 95 in Academic Growth tells you the school is still getting better.

Boone Elementary: More Than the Letter Grade Suggests

Boone is a smaller campus (426 students) that serves a more economically diverse population than Mills. The C rating is what most people see first, but the 6 of 7 distinctions tell a different story at the subject level. The school feeds into Covington and Lamar Middle Schools, with Bowie and Crockett as the high school destinations. So like Mills, Boone students can end up in the Bowie pipeline.

The $457,500 median price makes Boone one of the more affordable options in the Bowie feeder path. For buyers who want southwest Austin with the possibility of Bowie High School but need to keep their budget under $500K, the Boone zone is worth a serious look.

The Neighborhoods

Mills draws from communities around Convict Hill Road and the southwest Austin corridor between MoPac and Highway 290. Homes here are typically 1980s to 2000s construction with updates, sitting on established lots with mature landscaping. The area feels settled and family oriented without the premium pricing of the Barton Creek corridor.

Boone’s zone overlaps with neighborhoods closer to William Cannon and South Lamar, where you will find a broader mix of housing styles and price points. Some areas have seen significant renovation activity as buyers discover the value of getting into southwest Austin at a lower entry point. The neighborhood character is more mixed than the Mills zone but offers genuine upside for buyers willing to look past the letter grade.

Browse all homes zoned to Mills Elementary or homes zoned to Boone Elementary.

Which School Fits You?

You might lean toward Mills if:

• A top tier TEA score at the elementary level is a non negotiable priority
• You have budget flexibility in the $500K to $700K range
• The 95 Academic Growth score signals the exact kind of campus culture you want

You might lean toward Boone if:

• You need to stay under $500K and still want access to the Bowie feeder path
• The 6 of 7 distinctions reassure you that the school delivers at the subject level
• You value a smaller campus with around 426 students

Mills is the better school on the numbers, no question about it. But Boone’s 6 of 7 distinctions at a C rating with a much more challenging demographic profile is honestly more impressive than it looks on paper. And saving $135K on your home purchase is not nothing. Both paths lead to the Bowie pipeline, which is the long game most buyers in southwest Austin are playing.

Ready to Find Your Home?

Southwest Austin is one of the strongest school corridors in the entire city, and I would love to help you find the right fit. After 19 years of selling homes in this area, I know where the value is and which neighborhoods match up with which schools. Lets connect.

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