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What's the best and worst thing about the food at BENAVIDES EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
818
Elementary
DISTRICT 534 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BROWNSVILLE ISD·NCES 481168008137
Benavides Elementary School
3101 MCALLEN RD, BROWNSVILLE, TX 78520 · (956) 350-3250 · Cameron County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL818 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
54 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
79%
645 students
DISTRICT 91% · 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 | 172 | 21% |
| Kindergarten | 94 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 114 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 110 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 109 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 114 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 105 | 13% |
Student demographics
4%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 3% · 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
72.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +36.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
71.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +49.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 72 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 36 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 49 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 40.0% | 32.0% | 15.0% | 13.0% |
| Mathematics | 45.0% | 26.0% | 15.0% | 14.0% |
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 | 72.0% | 71.0% |
| 2024-25 | 75.0% | 74.0% |
| 2023-24 | 72.0% | 70.0% |
| 2022-23 | 64.0% | 67.0% |
| 2021-22 | 63.0% | 58.0% |
| 2020-21 | 36.0% | 22.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
68.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.0%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+28.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 40% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 28 points, placing it in Texas's top 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Benavides Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Cameron County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.1% | #372 of 4,401 | #3 of 93 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #372 of 4,466 | #8 of 93 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.0% | #602 of 4,466 | #4 of 93 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +6.0pp | #1,975 of 3,998 | #56 of 93 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 818 | #388 of 4,938 | #3 of 95 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #2,710 of 4,622 | #38 of 93 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 4.1% | #4,363 of 4,628 | #59 of 93 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.5% | #867 of 1,307 | #16 of 22 |
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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
818
+57 (+7%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 16.5:1
% White
1%
was 1%
% Hispanic
98%
was 98%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
1%
was 1%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free or reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 818 | 53.5 | 15.3:1 | 79% (645) |
| 2023-24 | 868 | 54.8 | 15.8:1 | 82% (711) |
| 2022-23 | 882 | 53.5 | 16.5:1 | 83% (731) |
| 2017-18 | 761 | 46.1 | 16.5:1 | 92% (699) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Benavides Elementary School.
About Benavides Elementary School
Benavides Elementary School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as an elementary school in BROWNSVILLE, Texas. It had 818 students in 2024-25, spanning pre-K through 5. Elementary schools in Texas have about 519 students on average; enrollment here is 58% higher.
Benavides Elementary School is one school in a 52-school district, BROWNSVILLE ISD, which enrolls 37,097 students.
Hispanic students account for 98% of the school's enrollment. Cameron County's residents are about 89% Hispanic, 9 points below the school's share. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 4, compared with 70 nationally.
There are 53.5 full-time-equivalent teachers at Benavides Elementary School, giving a ratio of 15.3:1. That is in line with the 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas. A total of 645 students, or 79%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Benavides Elementary School ranks in the top 10% of Texas schools after adjusting test results for student poverty. Actual: 68.1%. Predicted: 40.0%. Difference: 28.1 points.
The school's county is Cameron County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $52,601 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 22% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 21%. Public schools in Cameron County number 187, with about 97,392 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Pullam Elementary School, is about 0.9 miles. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, Benavides Elementary School places 3rd out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Mid-size, or inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment figures show a rise of 57 students from 2017-18 to 2024-25. The school's ratio dropped from 16.5:1 to 15.3:1 between 2017-18 and 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.
Cameron County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
426,120
Census ACS
Median income
$52,601
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
21%
Below federal line
Schools in county
187
97,392 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in BROWNSVILLE ISD
- Veterans Memorial Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,216 students
- Rivera Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,150 students
- Hanna Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,039 students
- Lopez Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,739 students
- Pace Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,621 students
- Porter Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,543 students
Other schools in BROWNSVILLE
- Veterans Memorial Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,216 students
- Rivera Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,150 students
- Hanna Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,039 students
- Lopez Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,739 students
- Pace Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,621 students
- Porter Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,543 students
Nearby schools
- Pullam Elementary School0.9 mi · 889
- Jubilee Living Way1.0 mi · 363
- Manzano Middle School1.3 mi · 837
- Keller Elementary School1.3 mi · 537
- Ortiz Elementary School1.4 mi · 564
- Jubilee Brownsville1.4 mi · 999
Frequently asked questions
About Benavides Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Benavides Elementary School?
Benavides Elementary School enrolls approximately 818 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Benavides Elementary School serve?
Benavides Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Benavides Elementary School have?
Benavides Elementary School employs 54 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.3:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Benavides Elementary School?
At Benavides Elementary School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 98% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian.
Who oversees Benavides Elementary School?
Benavides Elementary School is overseen by BROWNSVILLE ISD in Cameron County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.