Enrollment
426
Elementary
DISTRICT 397 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SAN BENITO CISD·NCES 483879004419
Downs Fine Arts Academy
1302 N DOWLING, SAN BENITO, TX 78586 · (956) 361-6720 · Cameron County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL426 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 75% of Texas public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Texas public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
73%
309 students
DISTRICT 82% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 98 | 23% |
| Kindergarten | 52 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 59 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 51 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 59 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 51 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 56 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (52) is 7% smaller than its 5th grade class (56).
Student demographics
10%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 4% · 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
60.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +18.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
61.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +28.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 61 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 18 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 28 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 34.0% | 26.0% | 16.0% | 24.0% |
| Mathematics | 32.0% | 29.0% | 12.0% | 27.0% |
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 | 60.0% | 61.0% |
| 2024-25 | 58.0% | 60.0% |
| 2023-24 | 52.0% | 53.0% |
| 2022-23 | 50.0% | 50.0% |
| 2021-22 | 64.0% | 36.0% |
| 2020-21 | 42.0% | 33.0% |
% 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
49.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.7%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 43% 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 Downs Fine Arts Academy
Downs Fine Arts Academy's state test result (49.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downs Fine Arts Academy this school | 426 | 72.5% | 49.9% |
| Garza Elementary School MCALLEN | 409 | 73.8% | 49.9% |
| Villareal Elementary School OLMITO | 444 | 74.3% | 53.0% |
| Raul Garza Jr Steam Academy SAN BENITO | 437 | 75.3% | 47.3% |
| Vista Hills Elementary School EL PASO | 439 | 73.6% | 66.0% |
| Long Elementary School HARLINGEN | 475 | 73.5% | 41.8% |
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 Downs Fine Arts Academy ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Cameron County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.9% | #1,448 of 4,401 | #31 of 93 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 61.0% | #901 of 4,466 ▼ 2 | #17 of 93 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 60.0% | #1,471 of 4,466 ▲ 167 | #33 of 93 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +10.5pp | #1,414 of 3,998 | #41 of 93 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 426 | #3,273 of 4,938 | #56 of 95 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.8:1 | #1,357 of 4,622 | #8 of 93 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 10.2% | #4,095 of 4,628 | #13 of 93 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 72.5% | #2,422 of 4,789 | #84 of 94 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.3% | #2,676 of 2,838 | #62 of 64 |
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
426
+75 (+21%) vs 2020
+99% since 1990-91, when it was 214
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 14.6:1
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 | 426 | 30.9 | 13.8:1 | 73% (309) |
| 2023-24 | 356 | 26.9 | 13.2:1 | 78% (278) |
| 2022-23 | 367 | 25.8 | 14.2:1 | 78% (285) |
| 2020-21 | 351 | 24 | 14.6:1 | 74% (261) |
| 2017-18 | 436 | 25.7 | 17.0:1 | 66% (287) |
| 2015-16 | 442 | 24 | 18.4:1 | 60% (266) |
| 2010-11 | 534 | 30 | 17.8:1 | 0% (0) |
| 2000-01 | 561 | 31 | 18.1:1 | 16% (88) |
| 1990-91 | 214 | 17 | 12.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Downs Fine Arts Academy.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (436 to 426); teachers up 20% (25.7 to 30.9).
About Downs Fine Arts Academy
Downs Fine Arts Academy is a public elementary school run by SAN BENITO CISD in SAN BENITO, Texas. The school offers pre-K through 5 and enrolls 426 students.
District-wide, SAN BENITO CISD has 23 schools and 9,137 students.
A large majority of enrollment at Downs Fine Arts Academy is Hispanic, at 95%. The rest of enrollment is 5% White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 10%.
Staffing at Downs Fine Arts Academy comes to 30.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 13.8:1. The school's 13.8:1 compares with an average of 15.1:1 for elementary schools in Texas. On the income side, 73% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 11 points below the 84% average for public schools in Cameron County.
Downs Fine Arts Academy earns an A- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 75% of Texas public elementary schools.
After adjusting for student poverty, Downs Fine Arts Academy lands between the top and bottom 10% of Texas schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 49.9%; the prediction is 42.7%.
Census data for Cameron County show the median household earns about $52,601 a year, 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 21% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Cameron County number 187, with about 97,392 students.
Downs Fine Arts Academy is about 0.6 miles from Miller Jordan Middle School, its nearest public school. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools average 35.9% on proficiency, and Downs Fine Arts Academy is above that at 49.9%.
NCES describes the area around Downs Fine Arts Academy as Suburb: Mid-size, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment rose by 21% across 4 years, from 351 in 2020-21 to 426 in 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to Downs Fine Arts Academy can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. 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 SAN BENITO CISD
- San Benito High SchoolHigh · 2,057 students
- Berta Cabaza Middle SchoolMiddle · 695 students
- San Benito Veterans Memorial AcademyHigh · 645 students
- Cash Elementary SchoolElementary · 611 students
- San Benito Riverside Middle SchoolMiddle · 558 students
- La Encantada Elementary SchoolElementary · 488 students
Other schools in SAN BENITO
- San Benito High SchoolHigh · 2,057 students
- South Texas ISD Rising Scholars AcademyMiddle · 781 students
- IDEA College Preparatory San BenitoHigh · 780 students
- Berta Cabaza Middle SchoolMiddle · 695 students
- IDEA Academy San BenitoElementary · 685 students
- Liberty Memorial Middle SchoolMiddle · 673 students
Nearby schools
- Miller Jordan Middle School0.6 mi · 477
- Cash Elementary School0.7 mi · 611
- Roberts Elementary School0.8 mi · 303
- Gateway to Graduation Academy1.1 mi · 64
- Fred Booth Global Leadership Academy1.2 mi · 441
- Sullivan Environmental Science Academy1.6 mi · 367
Frequently asked questions
About Downs Fine Arts AcademyWhat is the total enrollment at Downs Fine Arts Academy?
Downs Fine Arts Academy enrolls approximately 426 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Downs Fine Arts Academy serve?
Downs Fine Arts Academy serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Downs Fine Arts Academy?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Downs Fine Arts Academy is approximately 13.8:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Downs Fine Arts Academy?
At Downs Fine Arts Academy, the student body is approximately 5% White, 95% Hispanic, 0% Asian.
Is Downs Fine Arts Academy public or private?
Downs Fine Arts Academy is a public K-12 school, overseen by SAN BENITO CISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.