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What's the most underrated thing about ALVAREZ EL that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
435
Elementary
DISTRICT 496 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MCALLEN ISD·NCES 482967003326
Alvarez Elementary School
2606 GUMWOOD AVE, MCALLEN, TX 78501 · (956) 971-4471 · Hidalgo County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL435 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
421 students
DISTRICT 75% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 141 | 32% |
| Kindergarten | 55 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 53 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 42 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 55 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 44 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 45 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (55) is 22% larger than its 5th grade class (45).
Student demographics
7%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 12% · STATE 63% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
48.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +33.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
40.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +30.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 48 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 40 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 33 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 30 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 26.0% | 22.0% | 26.0% | 26.0% |
| Mathematics | 14.0% | 26.0% | 28.0% | 32.0% |
Share of tested students at each STAAR level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
STAAR results by year
| School year | Reading | Mathematics |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 48.0% | 40.0% |
| 2024-25 | 49.0% | 45.0% |
| 2023-24 | 55.0% | 47.0% |
| 2022-23 | 52.0% | 44.0% |
| 2021-22 | 38.0% | 36.0% |
| 2020-21 | 15.0% | 10.0% |
% Meets Grade Level or Above, all students and all tested grades.
Source: STAAR. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
43.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.4%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Texas's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Alvarez Elementary School
Alvarez Elementary School's state test result (43.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alvarez Elementary School this school | 435 | 96.8% | 43.9% |
| Carmen Anaya Elementary School PHARR | 429 | 97.2% | 51.3% |
| Hall Personalized Learning Academy at Oak Cliff DALLAS | 443 | 95.7% | 41.6% |
| D D Hachar Elementary School LAREDO | 443 | 96.4% | 67.6% |
| Douglass Elementary School EL PASO | 451 | 95.8% | 25.6% |
| Russell Elementary School BROWNSVILLE | 418 | 97.8% | 43.1% |
Matched among Texas elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Alvarez Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.9% | #2,097 of 4,401 | #86 of 181 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #2,890 of 4,466 ▼ 734 | #144 of 183 ▼ 52 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 48.0% | #2,783 of 4,466 ▼ 164 | #124 of 183 ▼ 11 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.0pp | #761 of 3,998 | #30 of 180 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 435 | #3,178 of 4,938 | #130 of 192 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #3,131 of 4,622 | #86 of 185 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 6.7% | #4,244 of 4,628 | #46 of 185 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.8% | #301 of 4,789 | #27 of 190 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.2% | #2,833 of 2,838 | #128 of 128 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
435
+102 (+31%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 486
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
was 13.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 435 | 27.5 | 15.8:1 | 97% (421) |
| 2023-24 | 450 | 33.7 | 13.3:1 | 96% (432) |
| 2022-23 | 461 | 26.5 | 17.4:1 | 96% (443) |
| 2020-21 | 333 | 25 | 13.3:1 | 94% (314) |
| 2017-18 | 436 | 27.5 | 15.9:1 | 93% (406) |
| 2015-16 | 534 | 33 | 16.2:1 | 94% (500) |
| 2010-11 | 545 | 32 | 17.0:1 | 0% (0) |
| 2000-01 | 512 | 33 | 15.5:1 | 93% (477) |
| 1990-91 | 486 | 31 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Alvarez Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students unchanged (436 to 435); teachers unchanged (27.5 to 27.5).
About Alvarez Elementary School
Alvarez Elementary School is a small elementary school in MCALLEN, Texas, (ZIP code 78501). Its grade span covers pre-K through 5, with 435 students on the rolls.
Alvarez Elementary School is among 31 schools run by MCALLEN ISD, which serves 19,890 students.
The share of students at Alvarez Elementary School who are Hispanic is 97%. Smaller groups are 2% multiracial. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 7%.
On staff are 27.5 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 15.8:1. Elementary schools in Texas average 15.1:1, 0.7 fewer students per teacher than here. Alvarez Elementary School has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 97%. That rate is above the 85% average among public schools in Hidalgo County.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Alvarez Elementary School would be expected to post about 32.4%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 43.9%.
The county, Hidalgo County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $54,338, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 21% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 23%. The county has 364 public schools and about 212,859 students.
Measured in a straight line, Achieve Early College High School is about 0.5 miles from Alvarez Elementary School. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Alvarez Elementary School is 6th of 7 on proficiency.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Mid-size. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The school's enrollment increased 31% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Students per teacher increased from 13.3 in 2020-21 to 15.8 in 2024-25.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Hidalgo County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
891,977
Census ACS
Median income
$54,338
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
23%
Below federal line
Schools in county
364
212,859 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in MCALLEN ISD
- McAllen High SchoolHigh · 2,134 students
- Memorial High SchoolHigh · 2,021 students
- Rowe High SchoolHigh · 1,905 students
- Morris Middle SchoolMiddle · 999 students
- Cathey Middle SchoolMiddle · 827 students
- Gonzalez Elementary SchoolElementary · 818 students
Other schools in MCALLEN
- McAllen High SchoolHigh · 2,134 students
- Memorial High SchoolHigh · 2,021 students
- Morris Middle SchoolMiddle · 999 students
- Cathey Middle SchoolMiddle · 827 students
- IDEA McAllen College PreparatoryHigh · 820 students
- Gonzalez Elementary SchoolElementary · 818 students
Nearby schools
- Achieve Early College High School0.5 mi · 428
- Thigpen-Zavala Elementary School0.9 mi · 470
- Triumph Public High Schools-McAllen0.9 mi · 118
- Instr/Guid Center0.9 mi · 60
- Seguin Elementary School1.0 mi · 530
- Horizon Montessori - STEM Academy1.1 mi · 331
Frequently asked questions
About Alvarez Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Alvarez Elementary School?
Alvarez Elementary School enrolls approximately 435 students in grades PK-05.
Is Alvarez Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Alvarez Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Alvarez Elementary School?
Approximately 15.8:1 students per teacher at Alvarez Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Alvarez Elementary School?
At Alvarez Elementary School, the student body is approximately 0% White, 97% Hispanic, 0% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is Alvarez Elementary School public or private?
Alvarez Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by MCALLEN ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.