Oak Hill vs Kiker Elementary: D vs A in Southwest Austin

Kiker Earned an A at 93. Oak Hill Dropped to a D at 69. Both Serve the Same Part of Southwest Austin.

Kiker Elementary scored a 93 out of 100 on the 2025 TEA accountability rating, good for an A. Oak Hill Elementary, just a couple miles north along the same stretch of Highway 71 in southwest Austin, scored a 69 and earned a D. Both are Austin ISD campuses. Both draw from some of the prettiest neighborhoods in the Hill Country edge of the city. And the TEA gap between them is 24 points.

I have sold homes in both of these zones for nearly two decades now, and this is one of those comparisons where the geography feels identical but the school performance tells a completely different story. The Kiker zone is anchored by Circle C Ranch, which has been one of Austin’s most consistent master planned communities since it was built. The Oak Hill zone stretches up into the Barton Creek corridor, where some of the most expensive homes in the metro are located. And yet the school serving that luxury corridor scored a D.

So what is going on? Lets dig into the data and the neighborhoods to understand what buyers in southwest Austin are actually choosing between.

Oak Hill vs Kiker: 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.

The surprise here is that neither school earned any TEA distinctions. Kiker’s A rating is built on very strong domain scores (92 to 93 across the top three domains), but the Closing the Gaps score of 70 is the one area where the campus falls short of distinction-earning territory. Oak Hill is dealing with much bigger challenges, scoring D across School Progress, Academic Growth, and Closing the Gaps.

What really stands out is the demographic contrast. Kiker serves a campus with 4.3% economically disadvantaged students. Oak Hill serves a campus where over half the students (50.4%) qualify as economically disadvantaged and 41.3% are English Learners. Those numbers explain a lot about the performance gap, but they do not change the fact that the gap exists.

For the full TEA breakdown on each campus, including rating history and all distinctions, visit the Oak Hill Elementary school page or the Kiker Elementary school page.

Kiker Elementary: Circle C’s Academic Anchor

Kiker is the school that makes Circle C Ranch even more appealing than it already is. The campus draws almost exclusively from this iconic master planned community in southwest Austin, and the results speak for themselves. A 93 overall, A ratings in Student Achievement, School Progress, and Academic Growth. This is a high performing campus with strong parent involvement, consistent leadership, and a student body that is engaged and supported.

Circle C itself is one of those neighborhoods that keeps showing up on “best neighborhoods in Austin” lists, and for good reason. Community pools, parks, trails, the Grey Rock Golf Club, and a retail village that gives residents everyday conveniences without leaving the neighborhood. The homes range from the high $600s to well over $1 million, with a median around $777,500 for active listings. That is real money, but you are buying into one of the most complete community packages in all of Austin ISD.

Oak Hill Elementary: Surprising Scores in a Premium Zip Code

Here is what catches buyers off guard about Oak Hill Elementary. The attendance zone includes parts of Barton Creek, Lantana, Travis Country, and the Owners Club at Barton Creek. These are some of the most expensive residential addresses in Austin. Million dollar homes zoned to a D rated elementary. That surprises people, and honestly it surprised me when the 2025 scores came out.

The Oak Hill zone is geographically huge, stretching from the Barton Creek luxury corridor down through more modest neighborhoods along Highway 71. The campus serves a genuinely wide economic range of students (50.4% economically disadvantaged), which creates academic challenges that do not show up on a neighborhood tour. The school has good bones and a strong location, but the TEA numbers are what they are right now.

The Neighborhoods

This comparison flips the usual price to performance relationship on its head. The Oak Hill zone has a median active listing of $899,000, significantly higher than Kiker’s $777,500. You are paying more for homes in the D rated zone than the A rated zone. That is unusual and worth thinking about carefully.

The Oak Hill zone premium comes from the Barton Creek and Lantana addresses at the top of the market, not from the school itself. Buyers in the luxury segment of that zone are often less focused on elementary school TEA scores (their kids may attend private school), which is why the price stays high despite the rating. But for buyers who want the best public school option in southwest Austin, the Kiker zone in Circle C offers a stronger academic package at a lower entry point.

Browse all homes zoned to Oak Hill Elementary or homes zoned to Kiker Elementary.

Which School Fits You?

This is an interesting one because it depends entirely on what you are buying for.

You might lean toward Kiker if:

• TEA scores are a top priority and you want an A rated campus
• The Circle C Ranch master planned community appeals to you
• You want strong School Progress and Academic Growth scores (both 93/100)
• A slightly lower median price point ($777K vs $899K) matters

You might lean toward Oak Hill if:

• You are buying for location and home quality, with less emphasis on elementary TEA scores
• The Barton Creek, Lantana, or Travis Country neighborhoods are where you want to be
• Your student will attend private school or you plan to supplement academically

I will be direct: for buyers who care about public elementary school performance, Kiker is the clear winner. An A versus a D at a lower price point is not a close call. But the Oak Hill zone has some of the most beautiful homes and neighborhoods in all of Austin, and the high school feeder (Bowie or Crockett) is strong regardless of the elementary score. Sometimes buyers are buying the zip code and the lifestyle, not the elementary school rating. Both are legitimate strategies.

Ready to Find Your Home?

Southwest Austin school zones are more complicated than most people realize, and the relationship between home price and school performance is not always what you would expect. I have been navigating these zones for over 19 years and can help you find the right combination of neighborhood, school, and price for your goals. Lets set up a time to talk.

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