1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at DR JAVIER SAENZ MIDDLE right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
601
Middle
DISTRICT 610 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LA JOYA ISD·NCES 482613010826
Dr Javier Saenz Middle School
39200 MILE 7 RD, PENITAS, TX 78576 · (956) 323-2830 · Hidalgo County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL601 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
592 students
DISTRICT 92% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 203 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 194 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 204 | 34% |
Student demographics
0%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 0% · 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
43.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +24.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
34.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +25.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 34 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 24 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 25 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 21.0% | 22.0% | 20.0% | 37.0% |
| Mathematics | 12.0% | 22.0% | 20.0% | 46.0% |
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 | 43.0% | 34.0% |
| 2024-25 | 35.0% | 34.0% |
| 2023-24 | 37.0% | 39.0% |
| 2022-23 | 30.0% | 33.0% |
| 2021-22 | 31.0% | 30.0% |
| 2020-21 | 19.0% | 9.0% |
% 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
35.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.6%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% 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 →
Where Dr Javier Saenz Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.4% | #1,151 of 1,635 | #47 of 54 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #1,201 of 1,670 | #44 of 54 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.0% | #1,367 of 1,670 | #47 of 54 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.0pp | #993 of 1,570 | #41 of 54 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 601 | #925 of 1,749 | #36 of 54 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #388 of 1,542 | #28 of 52 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 0.3% | #1,529 of 1,543 | #44 of 52 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -26.3% | #203 of 942 | #6 of 44 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
601
-215 (-26%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 14.2:1
% White
0%
was 0%
% Hispanic
100%
was 100%
% Black
0%
was 0%
% Asian
0%
was 0%
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 | 601 | 45.6 | 13.2:1 | 99% (592) |
| 2023-24 | 594 | 50.9 | 11.7:1 | 100% (592) |
| 2022-23 | 655 | 53.2 | 12.3:1 | 99% (649) |
| 2017-18 | 816 | 57.5 | 14.2:1 | 99% (804) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Dr Javier Saenz Middle School.
About Dr Javier Saenz Middle School
Dr Javier Saenz Middle School is a mid-sized middle-grades school located in PENITAS, Texas. Enrollment totals 601 students across grades 6 through 8.
Across its 36 schools, LA JOYA ISD enrolls 22,942 students. Dr Javier Saenz Middle School is one of those schools.
Roughly 100% of students at Dr Javier Saenz Middle School are Hispanic. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 0%.
Its ratio of 13.2:1 is based on 45.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. Statewide, middle schools in Texas average 14.4:1. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 99%. Across public schools in Hidalgo County, the average is 85%.
Compared with Texas schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Dr Javier Saenz Middle School's results are 3.8 points above predicted: 35.4% against 31.6%.
The school is in Hidalgo County, where the median household earns about $54,338 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 21% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 23%. Across Hidalgo County, 364 public schools serve about 212,859 students.
A public school about 0.2 miles away, William J Clinton Elementary School, is the closest to Dr Javier Saenz Middle School. Inside a five-mile radius, there are 6 other public schools. Dr Javier Saenz Middle School comes in 4th of 9 nearby schools on average proficiency.
Federal data place Dr Javier Saenz Middle School in the Rural: Fringe locale, which means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
A 26% decline took enrollment from 816 in 2017-18 to 601 in 2024-25. The student-to-teacher ratio dropped from 14.2:1 in 2017-18 to 13.2:1 in 2024-25.
The Dr Javier Saenz Middle School discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. You can also rate the school on this page.
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 LA JOYA ISD
- La Joya High SchoolHigh · 2,405 students
- La Joya Palmview High SchoolHigh · 2,073 students
- Juarez-Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- Enrique Kiki Camarena Elementary SchoolElementary · 715 students
- John F Kennedy Elementary SchoolElementary · 676 students
- Ann Richards Middle SchoolMiddle · 665 students
Other schools in PENITAS
- John F Kennedy Elementary SchoolElementary · 676 students
- Corina Pena Elementary SchoolElementary · 523 students
- William J Clinton Elementary SchoolElementary · 463 students
Nearby schools
- William J Clinton Elementary School0.2 mi · 463
- Juarez-Lincoln High School3.1 mi · 1,952
- Corina Pena Elementary School3.2 mi · 523
- Juan Seguin Elementary School3.6 mi · 569
- Dr Maria Palmira Mendiola Elementary School4.5 mi · 583
- Evangelina Garza Elementary School4.8 mi · 384
Frequently asked questions
About Dr Javier Saenz Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Dr Javier Saenz Middle School?
Dr Javier Saenz Middle School enrolls approximately 601 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Dr Javier Saenz Middle School serve?
Dr Javier Saenz Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Dr Javier Saenz Middle School have?
Dr Javier Saenz Middle School employs 46 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.2:1.
What is the student diversity at Dr Javier Saenz Middle School?
Student demographics at Dr Javier Saenz Middle School are roughly 0% White, 100% Hispanic.
Is Dr Javier Saenz Middle School public or private?
Dr Javier Saenz Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by LA JOYA ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.