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If you had an hour of school board time for IDEA MCALLEN ACADEMY, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
738
Elementary
DISTRICT 657 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 480021112688
IDEA McAllen Academy
201 N BENTSEN RD, MCALLEN, TX 78501 · (956) 429-4100 · Hidalgo County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL738 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
21.4:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.6:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
78%
578 students
DISTRICT 83% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 86 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 131 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 130 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 126 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 130 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 135 | 18% |
Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 27% · 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
51.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +15.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
40.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +15.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 51 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 15 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 15 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 26.0% | 25.0% | 23.0% | 26.0% |
| Mathematics | 22.0% | 18.0% | 26.0% | 34.0% |
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 | 51.0% | 40.0% |
| 2024-25 | 59.0% | 36.0% |
| 2023-24 | 55.0% | 44.0% |
| 2022-23 | 56.0% | 47.0% |
| 2021-22 | 60.0% | 46.0% |
| 2020-21 | 36.0% | 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
45.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
40.2%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 IDEA McAllen Academy ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 45.5% | #1,903 of 4,401 | #79 of 181 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #2,801 of 4,466 | #140 of 183 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.0% | #2,335 of 4,466 | #100 of 183 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -6.0pp | #583 of 3,998 | #18 of 180 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 738 | #694 of 4,938 | #13 of 192 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.4:1 | #4,527 of 4,622 | #170 of 185 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 11.4% | #4,051 of 4,628 | #17 of 185 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.5% | #1,379 of 2,838 | #67 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.
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
738
-157 (-18%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
21.4:1
was 23.4:1
% White
4%
was 2%
% Hispanic
94%
was 95%
% Black
1%
was 0%
% Asian
1%
was 2%
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 | 738 | 34.5 | 21.4:1 | 78% (578) |
| 2023-24 | 772 | 32.6 | 23.7:1 | 82% (630) |
| 2022-23 | 887 | 33.9 | 26.1:1 | 84% (741) |
| 2017-18 | 895 | 38.3 | 23.4:1 | 80% (719) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for IDEA McAllen Academy.
About IDEA McAllen Academy
IDEA McAllen Academy is a public elementary school in MCALLEN, Texas. Students in kindergarten through 5 attend the school, which enrolls 738 students. The average among elementary schools in Texas is roughly 519 students; this school is 42% bigger than that.
IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS operates 125 schools. Combined enrollment is 79,430 students.
The student body at IDEA McAllen Academy is 94% Hispanic. The rest of enrollment is 4% White. That is close to the 92% Hispanic share among all Hidalgo County residents. The school's diversity index is 11%, meaning two students picked at random have an 11% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 21.4:1, with 34.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is 6.3 students per teacher above the 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 78% of enrollment.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For IDEA McAllen Academy, the prediction is 40.2% and the result is 45.5%.
Federal survey data for Hidalgo County show that the median household income is $54,338, roughly 21% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 23% of residents live below the federal poverty line. There are 364 public schools in Hidalgo County, enrolling about 212,859 students in all.
The nearest other public school, IDEA McAllen College Preparatory, is less than a tenth of a mile away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Among the 8 closest schools with test data, this one included, IDEA McAllen Academy ranks 7th on average proficiency.
IDEA McAllen Academy is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000, a location NCES labels City: Mid-size. IDEA McAllen Academy holds a charter, making it a public charter school.
Enrollment is down 18% from 2017-18, when IDEA McAllen Academy had 895 students, to 2024-25, when it had 738. The ratio was 23.4:1 in 2017-18 and 21.4:1 in 2024-25.
Discussion on this page can cover school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS
- IDEA College Preparatory PharrHigh · 848 students
- IDEA Montopolis College PreparatoryHigh · 835 students
- IDEA College PrepHigh · 823 students
- IDEA McAllen College PreparatoryHigh · 820 students
- IDEA Riverview College PreparatoryHigh · 813 students
- IDEA College Preparatory MissionHigh · 798 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
- IDEA McAllen College Preparatory0.0 mi · 820
- Sharyland Advanced Academic Academy0.7 mi · 481
- Romulo D Martinez Elementary School0.7 mi · 525
- Sharyland High School0.9 mi · 1,527
- Rowe High School1.3 mi · 1,905
- Alvarez Elementary School1.3 mi · 435
Frequently asked questions
About IDEA McAllen AcademyHow large is IDEA McAllen Academy?
IDEA McAllen Academy enrolls approximately 738 students in grades KG-05.
Is IDEA McAllen Academy an elementary, middle, or high school?
IDEA McAllen Academy is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does IDEA McAllen Academy have?
IDEA McAllen Academy employs 34 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 21.4:1.
What is the student diversity at IDEA McAllen Academy?
Student demographics at IDEA McAllen Academy are roughly 4% White, 94% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian.
What district is IDEA McAllen Academy in?
IDEA McAllen Academy is part of IDEA PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.