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What do students at IRENE M GARCIA MIDDLE actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
601
Middle
DISTRICT 610 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LA JOYA ISD·NCES 482613009577
Irene M Garcia Middle School
933 PAULA DR, MISSION, TX 78572 · (956) 323-2840 · Hidalgo County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL601 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 76% of Texas public middle schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- CThree-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
43 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
86%
519 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 | 186 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 196 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 219 | 36% |
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
59.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +40.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
40.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +27.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 59 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 40 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 27 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 29.0% | 30.0% | 22.0% | 19.0% |
| Mathematics | 15.0% | 25.0% | 28.0% | 32.0% |
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 | 59.0% | 40.0% |
| 2024-25 | 54.0% | 40.0% |
| 2023-24 | 57.0% | 51.0% |
| 2022-23 | 45.0% | 41.0% |
| 2021-22 | 44.0% | 42.0% |
| 2020-21 | 19.0% | 13.0% |
% 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
49.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.8%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 37% 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 Irene M Garcia Middle School
Irene M Garcia Middle School's state test result (49.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Irene M Garcia Middle School this school | 601 | 86.4% | 49.0% |
| Cesar Chavez Middle School MISSION | 625 | 87.2% | 43.6% |
| Diaz Junior High School HIDALGO | 615 | 87.5% | 38.3% |
| Brown Middle School MCALLEN | 580 | 87.2% | 47.3% |
| Rafael A Cantu Junior High School PALMHURST | 591 | 86.8% | 37.4% |
| Armando Cuellar Middle School WESLACO | 634 | 84.7% | 37.8% |
Matched among Texas middle 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 Irene M Garcia Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.0% | #536 of 1,635 | #11 of 54 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #938 of 1,670 ▼ 65 | #33 of 54 ▼ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 59.0% | #614 of 1,670 ▲ 178 | #14 of 54 ▲ 5 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +6.5pp | #1,015 of 1,570 | #42 of 54 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 601 | #924 of 1,749 | #35 of 54 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.1:1 | #636 of 1,542 | #35 of 52 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 0.0% | #1,539 of 1,543 | #51 of 52 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 86.4% | #359 of 1,648 | #37 of 54 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -25.4% | #222 of 942 | #7 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. 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
601
-145 (-19%) vs 2020
-25% since 2010-11, when it was 801
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
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 | 601 | 42.5 | 14.1:1 | 86% (519) |
| 2023-24 | 625 | 43.1 | 14.5:1 | 99% (618) |
| 2022-23 | 641 | 51.6 | 12.4:1 | 89% (568) |
| 2020-21 | 746 | 52 | 14.3:1 | 84% (625) |
| 2017-18 | 806 | 53 | 15.2:1 | 89% (715) |
| 2015-16 | 788 | 54 | 14.6:1 | 91% (721) |
| 2010-11 | 801 | 61 | 13.1:1 | 8% (62) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Irene M Garcia Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (806 to 601); teachers down 20% (53 to 42.5).
About Irene M Garcia Middle School
In MISSION, Texas, Irene M Garcia Middle School is a medium-sized middle school. Classes run from 6 through 8, and the school has 601 students.
LA JOYA ISD enrolls 22,942 students in 36 schools, including Irene M Garcia Middle School.
Irene M Garcia Middle School's enrollment is 100% Hispanic. In Hidalgo County overall, about 92% of residents are Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 0%, meaning two students picked at random have a 0% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The school employs the equivalent of 42.5 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 14.1:1. That matches the 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas fairly closely. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 86%. For comparison, public schools in Hidalgo County average 85%.
The allk12 Grade for Irene M Garcia Middle School is A-. Compared with Texas public middle schools, the school scored higher than 76% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Irene M Garcia Middle School falls in the middle 80% of Texas schools: 49.0% actual against 36.8% predicted.
County data help place the school in context: in Hidalgo County, the median household income is $54,338, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 21% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 23%. Hidalgo County is home to 364 public schools and about 212,859 public school students.
E B Reyna Elementary School is located about 0.4 miles from Irene M Garcia Middle School. The five-mile area around Irene M Garcia Middle School holds at least 8 other public schools. Irene M Garcia Middle School comes in 4th of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Irene M Garcia Middle School is coded Suburb: Large, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over 4 years, Irene M Garcia Middle School's enrollment dropped 19%, to 601.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 MISSION
- Mission High SchoolHigh · 2,154 students
- La Joya Palmview High SchoolHigh · 2,073 students
- Juarez-Lincoln High SchoolHigh · 1,952 students
- Veterans Memorial High SchoolHigh · 1,737 students
- Sharyland High SchoolHigh · 1,527 students
- Sharyland Pioneer High SchoolHigh · 1,511 students
Nearby schools
- E B Reyna Elementary School0.4 mi · 523
- Memorial Middle School0.4 mi · 663
- Enrique Kiki Camarena Elementary School0.5 mi · 715
- Premier H S of Palmview1.0 mi · 108
- Jose De Escandon Elementary School1.4 mi · 614
- La Joya Palmview High School1.5 mi · 2,073
Frequently asked questions
About Irene M Garcia Middle SchoolHow many students attend Irene M Garcia Middle School?
Irene M Garcia Middle School enrolls approximately 601 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Irene M Garcia Middle School serve?
Irene M Garcia Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Irene M Garcia Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Irene M Garcia Middle School is approximately 14.1:1 (43 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Irene M Garcia Middle School?
Student demographics at Irene M Garcia Middle School are roughly 100% Hispanic.
Is Irene M Garcia Middle School public or private?
Irene M Garcia 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.