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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at MCDONALD MIDDLE?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
787
Middle
DISTRICT 840 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MESQUITE ISD·NCES 483039003409
McDonald Middle School
2930 TOWN E BLVD, MESQUITE, TX 75150 · (972) 882-5700 · Dallas County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL787 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
55 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
647 students
DISTRICT 82% · 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 | 242 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 279 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 266 | 34% |
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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% . +13.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
44.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +7.0pp 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 44 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 13 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 7 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 18.0% | 25.0% | 28.0% | 29.0% |
| Mathematics | 16.0% | 28.0% | 24.0% | 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 | 43.0% | 44.0% |
| 2024-25 | 37.0% | 47.0% |
| 2023-24 | 34.0% | 43.0% |
| 2022-23 | 45.0% | 51.0% |
| 2021-22 | 45.0% | 36.0% |
| 2020-21 | 30.0% | 37.0% |
% 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
34.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.6%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% 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 McDonald Middle School
McDonald Middle School's state test result (34.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDonald Middle School this school | 787 | 82.2% | 34.3% |
| Andrew Jackson Middle School GRAND PRAIRIE | 787 | 81.1% | 31.5% |
| Baytown Junior High School BAYTOWN | 711 | 81.0% | 34.6% |
| O W Sadberry Sr Intermediate School BRYAN | 700 | 81.0% | 29.7% |
| Cardiff Junior High School KATY | 803 | 82.4% | 44.7% |
| Lanny Frasier Middle School MESQUITE | 959 | 84.7% | 40.6% |
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 McDonald Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Dallas County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.3% | #1,210 of 1,635 | #66 of 118 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 44.0% | #761 of 1,670 ▼ 153 | #46 of 123 ▼ 18 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.0% | #1,371 of 1,670 ▲ 109 | #84 of 123 ▲ 16 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.5pp | #106 of 1,570 | #21 of 121 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 787 | #580 of 1,749 | #36 of 126 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #709 of 1,542 | #47 of 123 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.0% | #893 of 1,543 | #55 of 123 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 82.2% | #456 of 1,648 | #78 of 121 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -21.5% | #306 of 942 | #46 of 80 |
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
787
-146 (-16%) vs 2020
-24% since 1990-91, when it was 1,035
Student : Teacher
14.4:1
was 16.7:1
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 | 787 | 54.7 | 14.4:1 | 82% (647) |
| 2023-24 | 778 | 53.9 | 14.4:1 | 87% (680) |
| 2022-23 | 786 | 53.8 | 14.6:1 | 86% (676) |
| 2020-21 | 933 | 56 | 16.7:1 | 87% (811) |
| 2017-18 | 1,002 | 66 | 15.2:1 | 79% (792) |
| 2015-16 | 1,030 | 69 | 14.9:1 | 84% (866) |
| 2010-11 | 976 | 60 | 16.3:1 | 78% (758) |
| 2000-01 | 886 | 59 | 15.0:1 | 29% (261) |
| 1990-91 | 1,035 | 42 | 24.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for McDonald Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 21% (1,002 to 787); teachers down 17% (66 to 54.7).
About McDonald Middle School
McDonald Middle School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as a middle-grades school in MESQUITE, Texas. Total enrollment is 787 students, and the grades served are 6 through 8. Middle schools in Texas have about 643 students on average; enrollment here is 22% higher.
McDonald Middle School is a school in MESQUITE ISD. The district has 51 schools and 37,930 students.
More than half of the students at McDonald Middle School are Hispanic (67%). Other reported shares: 19% Black, 9% White, and 3% multiracial. That compares with about 41% Hispanic among all Dallas County residents. The diversity index for McDonald Middle School is 50%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school's 54.7 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.4:1. The average for middle schools in Texas is about 14.4:1. At McDonald Middle School, 82% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25.
On BeatsExpectations, McDonald Middle School is 4.3 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Texas schools.
The school's county is Dallas County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $76,547, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and about 11% of people live in poverty. Dallas County's 771 public schools enroll about 459,645 students and include McDonald Middle School.
Of the public schools around it, McDonald Middle School is closest to McKenzie Elementary School, about 0.3 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. McDonald Middle School is 7th of 7 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
NCES lists the school's locale as Suburb: Large. That means it sits in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 16% decline, from 933 to 787. Its ratio of students to teachers was 16.7:1 in 2020-21, and 14.4:1 in 2024-25.
People who know McDonald Middle School can post here about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Dallas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,621,179
Census ACS
Median income
$76,547
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
771
459,645 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in MESQUITE ISD
- Horn High SchoolHigh · 2,757 students
- Mesquite High SchoolHigh · 2,294 students
- North Mesquite High SchoolHigh · 2,099 students
- West Mesquite High SchoolHigh · 1,997 students
- Vroonland - Vanguard High SchoolHigh · 1,605 students
- Poteet High SchoolHigh · 1,523 students
Other schools in MESQUITE
- Horn High SchoolHigh · 2,757 students
- Mesquite High SchoolHigh · 2,294 students
- North Mesquite High SchoolHigh · 2,099 students
- West Mesquite High SchoolHigh · 1,997 students
- Vroonland - Vanguard High SchoolHigh · 1,605 students
- Poteet High SchoolHigh · 1,523 students
Nearby schools
- McKenzie Elementary School0.3 mi · 406
- Tosch Elementary School0.4 mi · 625
- North Mesquite High School0.7 mi · 2,099
- Lawrence Elementary School0.9 mi · 284
- Range Elementary School1.1 mi · 587
- Premier H S Mesquite1.2 mi · 103
Frequently asked questions
About McDonald Middle SchoolHow large is McDonald Middle School?
McDonald Middle School enrolls approximately 787 students in grades 06-08.
Is McDonald Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
McDonald Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at McDonald Middle School?
Approximately 14.4:1 students per teacher at McDonald Middle School.
How diverse is McDonald Middle School?
McDonald Middle School reports a student body of 9% White, 67% Hispanic, 19% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is McDonald Middle School in?
McDonald Middle School is part of MESQUITE ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.