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What do you wish you knew before starting at GARZA EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
409
Elementary
DISTRICT 496 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MCALLEN ISD·NCES 482967005897
Garza Elementary School
6300 N 29TH ST, MCALLEN, TX 78504 · (956) 971-4554 · Hidalgo County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL409 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
74%
302 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 | 47 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 56 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 57 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 56 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 55 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 66 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 72 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (56) is 22% smaller than its 5th grade class (72).
Student demographics
11%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
63.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +34.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
42.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +17.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 42 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 34 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 17 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 29.0% | 34.0% | 24.0% | 13.0% |
| Mathematics | 15.0% | 27.0% | 30.0% | 28.0% |
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 | 63.0% | 42.0% |
| 2024-25 | 69.0% | 48.0% |
| 2023-24 | 59.0% | 45.0% |
| 2022-23 | 46.0% | 40.0% |
| 2021-22 | 55.0% | 55.0% |
| 2020-21 | 29.0% | 25.0% |
% 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
42.2%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 42% 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 Garza Elementary School
Garza Elementary School's state test result (49.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Garza Elementary School this school | 409 | 73.8% | 49.9% |
| Downs Fine Arts Academy SAN BENITO | 426 | 72.5% | 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% |
| Cano-Gonzalez Elementary School EDINBURG | 399 | 75.9% | 44.8% |
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 Garza Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.9% | #1,447 of 4,401 | #49 of 181 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #2,639 of 4,466 ▼ 798 | #130 of 183 ▼ 56 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.0% | #1,183 of 4,466 ▼ 379 | #31 of 183 ▼ 15 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +9.5pp | #1,539 of 3,998 | #64 of 180 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 409 | #3,407 of 4,938 | #138 of 192 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.8:1 | #2,296 of 4,622 | #48 of 185 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 11.1% | #4,059 of 4,628 | #18 of 185 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 73.8% | #2,327 of 4,789 | #170 of 190 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -27.5% | #640 of 2,838 | #30 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
409
-76 (-16%) vs 2020
-35% since 1990-91, when it was 630
Student : Teacher
14.8:1
was 14.3:1
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 | 409 | 27.6 | 14.8:1 | 74% (302) |
| 2023-24 | 445 | 30.5 | 14.6:1 | 75% (333) |
| 2022-23 | 464 | 32 | 14.5:1 | 73% (340) |
| 2020-21 | 485 | 34 | 14.3:1 | 70% (338) |
| 2017-18 | 564 | 34 | 16.6:1 | 60% (336) |
| 2015-16 | 602 | 34 | 17.7:1 | 62% (375) |
| 2010-11 | 711 | 38 | 18.7:1 | 0% (0) |
| 2000-01 | 926 | 53 | 17.5:1 | 43% (399) |
| 1990-91 | 630 | 31 | 20.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Garza Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 27% (564 to 409); teachers down 19% (34 to 27.6).
About Garza Elementary School
Garza Elementary School is an elementary school in MCALLEN, Texas, and it is part of MCALLEN ISD. The school runs pre-K through 5 and enrolls 409 students. Elementary schools in Texas have about 519 students on average; enrollment here is 21% lower.
Garza Elementary School belongs to MCALLEN ISD, a district of 31 schools and 19,890 students.
Hispanic students are 94% of those enrolled at Garza Elementary School. The next largest groups are 5% White. That is in line with Hidalgo County, where about 92% of residents are Hispanic. A diversity index of 11% means there is an 11% chance two randomly chosen students at Garza Elementary School are from different groups.
Garza Elementary School reports a ratio of 14.8 students per teacher, from 27.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in Texas is about 15.1:1. Lunch program data show 74% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price meals. The gap from the 85% average for public schools in Hidalgo County is 11 points.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 42.2% for Garza Elementary School. The school posts 49.9%, 7.7 points above the prediction.
The county, Hidalgo County, is where the school is located. Median household income comes to about $54,338, roughly 21% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 23%. Hidalgo County has 364 public schools with about 212,859 students, including Garza Elementary School.
The closest school to Garza Elementary School is Lucile Hendricks Elementary School, located about 0.7 miles away. Garza Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Garza Elementary School ranks 8th of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 49.9% against a local average of 57.9%.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Mid-size.
Over 4 years, enrollment decreased by 76 students, from 485 to 409.
This page collects posts and questions about Garza Elementary School, such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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
Other Garza Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Garza Elementary. Garza Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- Garza Elementary SchoolBROWNSVILLE, TX · 262 students
Nearby schools
- Lucile Hendricks Elementary School0.7 mi · 432
- Michael E Fossum Middle School1.0 mi · 791
- De Leon Middle School1.1 mi · 664
- Donna Wernecke Elementary School1.3 mi · 631
- Rayburn Elementary School1.3 mi · 530
- Morris Middle School1.3 mi · 999
Frequently asked questions
About Garza Elementary SchoolHow large is Garza Elementary School?
Garza Elementary School enrolls approximately 409 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Garza Elementary School serve?
Garza Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Garza Elementary School?
Approximately 14.8:1 students per teacher at Garza Elementary School.
How diverse is Garza Elementary School?
Garza Elementary School reports a student body of 5% White, 94% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Garza Elementary School?
Garza Elementary School is overseen by MCALLEN ISD in Hidalgo County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.