1
What's the one class at PENA EL every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
501
Elementary
DISTRICT 534 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BROWNSVILLE ISD·NCES 481168012087
Pena Elementary School
4975 SALIDA DE LA LUNA, BROWNSVILLE, TX 78526 · (956) 547-7100 · Cameron County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL501 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
90%
453 students
DISTRICT 91% · 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 | 117 | 23% |
| Kindergarten | 54 | 11% |
| Grade 1 | 79 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 63 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 59 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 56 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (54) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (56).
Student demographics
0%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 3% · 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
68.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +37.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
64.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +43.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 68 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 64 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 37 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 43 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 36.0% | 32.0% | 20.0% | 12.0% |
| Mathematics | 26.0% | 38.0% | 22.0% | 14.0% |
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 | 68.0% | 64.0% |
| 2024-25 | 67.0% | 62.0% |
| 2023-24 | 66.0% | 61.0% |
| 2022-23 | 52.0% | 51.0% |
| 2021-22 | 52.0% | 46.0% |
| 2020-21 | 31.0% | 21.0% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of TX schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
58.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.1%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+22.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 58% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 35% typical for Texas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 23 points, placing it in Texas's top 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 Pena Elementary School
Pena Elementary School's state test result (58.0% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pena Elementary School this school | 501 | 90.4% | 58.0% |
| Dr Mario E Ramirez Elementary School RIO GRANDE CITY | 493 | 90.9% | 41.5% |
| Lancaster Elementary School EL PASO | 517 | 89.6% | 48.3% |
| Santos Livas Elementary School ALAMO | 515 | 89.1% | 42.0% |
| Rio Hondo Elementary School RIO HONDO | 527 | 90.9% | 36.9% |
| Gillette Elementary School SAN ANTONIO | 527 | 91.5% | 33.6% |
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 Pena Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Cameron County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 58.0% | #878 of 4,401 | #16 of 93 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.0% | #687 of 4,466 ▲ 52 | #16 of 93 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #814 of 4,466 ▲ 71 | #9 of 93 ▲ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +14.5pp | #909 of 3,998 | #22 of 93 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 501 | #2,531 of 4,938 | #44 of 95 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.2:1 | #3,398 of 4,622 | #58 of 93 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 0.4% | #4,573 of 4,628 | #91 of 93 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 90.4% | #1,027 of 4,789 | #49 of 94 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.1% | #1,418 of 2,838 | #38 of 64 |
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
501
+37 (+8%) vs 2020
-27% since 2010-11, when it was 687
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
was 15.0:1
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 | 501 | 31 | 16.2:1 | 90% (453) |
| 2023-24 | 471 | 28 | 16.8:1 | 84% (395) |
| 2022-23 | 472 | 27.4 | 17.2:1 | 88% (413) |
| 2020-21 | 464 | 31 | 15.0:1 | 84% (388) |
| 2017-18 | 604 | 36.9 | 16.4:1 | 96% (582) |
| 2015-16 | 663 | 42 | 15.8:1 | 95% (632) |
| 2010-11 | 687 | 39 | 17.6:1 | 0% (0) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pena Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (604 to 501); teachers down 16% (36.9 to 31).
About Pena Elementary School
Students in BROWNSVILLE, Texas, attend Pena Elementary School, a medium-sized elementary school. The school had 501 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25.
BROWNSVILLE ISD runs Pena Elementary School along with 51 other schools, enrolling 37,097 students in total.
Hispanic students are the large majority at Pena Elementary School, with 100% of enrollment. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Cameron County's population at about 89%. Pena Elementary School has a diversity index of 0%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Teachers at Pena Elementary School total 31 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 16.2:1. The 15.1:1 average for elementary schools in Texas is lower than this school's figure. The school counts 453 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 90%.
In Texas, Pena Elementary School is one of the top 10% of schools on BeatsExpectations, with an average proficiency rate on state tests of 58.0% compared with a predicted 35.1%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Cameron County, median household income is about $52,601, 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 21% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 187 public schools operate in Cameron County, serving about 97,392 students.
The nearest public school is Garcia Middle School, at about 0.7 miles. Pena Elementary School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 45.1% proficiency; Pena Elementary School posts 58.0%.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Mid-size.
Enrollment was 464 in 2020-21 and 501 in 2024-25, a increase of 37 students. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 15.0:1 to 16.2:1.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Cameron County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
426,120
Census ACS
Median income
$52,601
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
21%
Below federal line
Schools in county
187
97,392 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in BROWNSVILLE ISD
- Veterans Memorial Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,216 students
- Rivera Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,150 students
- Hanna Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,039 students
- Lopez Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,739 students
- Pace Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,621 students
- Porter Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,543 students
Other schools in BROWNSVILLE
- Veterans Memorial Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,216 students
- Rivera Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,150 students
- Hanna Early College High SchoolHigh · 2,039 students
- Lopez Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,739 students
- Pace Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,621 students
- Porter Early College High SchoolHigh · 1,543 students
Nearby schools
- Garcia Middle School0.7 mi · 870
- IDEA Robindale College Preparatory1.1 mi · 693
- IDEA Robindale Academy1.1 mi · 699
- Gonzalez Elementary School1.3 mi · 596
- Vermillion Road Elementary School1.6 mi · 654
- Rivera Early College High School1.7 mi · 2,150
Frequently asked questions
About Pena Elementary SchoolHow large is Pena Elementary School?
Pena Elementary School enrolls approximately 501 students in grades PK-05.
Is Pena Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Pena Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pena Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Pena Elementary School is approximately 16.2:1 (31 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Pena Elementary School?
Pena Elementary School reports a student body of 0% White, 100% Hispanic.
What district is Pena Elementary School in?
Pena Elementary School is part of BROWNSVILLE ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.