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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at PUTEGNAT EL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
444
Elementary
DISTRICT 534 · STATE 519
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BROWNSVILLE ISD·NCES 481168000661
Putegnat Elementary School
730 E 8TH ST, BROWNSVILLE, TX 78520 · (956) 548-8930 · Cameron County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL444 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 55% of Texas public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B-Three-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
444 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 | 70 | 16% |
| Kindergarten | 68 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 64 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 72 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 56 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 57 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (68) is 19% larger than its 5th grade class (57).
Student demographics
6%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
40.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +35.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
52.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +44.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 52 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 35 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 44 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 17.0% | 23.0% | 33.0% | 27.0% |
| Mathematics | 24.0% | 28.0% | 22.0% | 26.0% |
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 | 40.0% | 52.0% |
| 2024-25 | 44.0% | 45.0% |
| 2023-24 | 47.0% | 38.0% |
| 2022-23 | 35.0% | 43.0% |
| 2021-22 | 44.0% | 37.0% |
| 2020-21 | 5.0% | 8.0% |
% 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
39.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.0%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% 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 Putegnat Elementary School
Putegnat Elementary School's state test result (39.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Putegnat Elementary School this school | 444 | 100.0% | 39.1% |
| J C Martin Jr Elementary School LAREDO | 435 | 99.5% | 70.3% |
| Smith Elementary School RAYMONDVILLE | 431 | 98.8% | 56.4% |
| Barrick Elementary School HOUSTON | 433 | 99.1% | 32.9% |
| John & Olive Hinojosa Elementary School RIO GRANDE CITY | 441 | 99.1% | 30.2% |
| Alberto and Celia Barrera Elementary School RIO GRANDE CITY | 420 | 100.0% | 32.5% |
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 Putegnat Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Cameron County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.1% | #2,700 of 4,401 | #73 of 93 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.0% | #1,563 of 4,466 ▲ 530 | #49 of 93 ▲ 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #3,644 of 4,466 ▼ 557 | #86 of 93 ▼ 6 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.0pp | #1,849 of 3,998 | #53 of 93 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 444 | #3,077 of 4,938 | #51 of 95 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.3:1 | #3,494 of 4,622 | #63 of 93 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 5.7% | #4,288 of 4,628 | #48 of 93 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 100% | #7 of 4,789 | #2 of 94 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.1% | #2,601 of 2,838 | #61 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
444
-74 (-14%) vs 2020
-31% since 1990-91, when it was 645
Student : Teacher
16.3:1
was 15.7:1
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 | 444 | 27.3 | 16.3:1 | 100% (444) |
| 2023-24 | 447 | 27 | 16.5:1 | 99% (442) |
| 2022-23 | 478 | 28.9 | 16.6:1 | 99% (471) |
| 2020-21 | 518 | 33 | 15.7:1 | 99% (515) |
| 2017-18 | 458 | 26.9 | 17.0:1 | 99% (454) |
| 2015-16 | 492 | 32 | 15.4:1 | 96% (473) |
| 2010-11 | 514 | 33 | 15.6:1 | 5% (26) |
| 2000-01 | 609 | 36 | 16.9:1 | 0% (0) |
| 1990-91 | 645 | 61 | 10.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Putegnat Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (458 to 444); teachers up 1% (26.9 to 27.3).
About Putegnat Elementary School
Putegnat Elementary School operates as a mid-sized elementary school in BROWNSVILLE, Texas. The school serves pre-K through 5. Enrollment is 444 students.
BROWNSVILLE ISD runs 52 schools with a combined 37,097 students. Putegnat Elementary School is one of them.
Of every 100 students at Putegnat Elementary School, about 97 are Hispanic. The school is also 2% White. A diversity index of 6% means there is a 6% chance two randomly chosen students at Putegnat Elementary School are from different groups.
Teacher count: 27.3 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 16.3:1. Across elementary schools in Texas, the average ratio is 15.1:1. Roughly 100% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The 84% average for public schools in Cameron County is 16 points lower.
Putegnat Elementary School holds a B allk12 Grade, placing it above 55% of Texas public elementary schools.
On BeatsExpectations, Putegnat Elementary School is 8.2 points above its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Texas schools.
In Cameron County, home to about 426,120 people, the median household earns about $52,601 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 22% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 21%. Public schools in Cameron County number 187, with about 97,392 students.
Putegnat Elementary School is about 0.8 miles from Sharp Elementary School, its nearest public school. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Putegnat Elementary School is 6th of 9 on proficiency.
Putegnat Elementary School falls in the City: Mid-size locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 14% decline, from 518 to 444.
On allk12, people connected to Putegnat Elementary School can post about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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
- Sharp Elementary School0.8 mi · 432
- Brownsville Early College High School0.8 mi · 311
- Skinner Elementary School0.9 mi · 344
- Canales Elementary School1.1 mi · 630
- Harmony Science Academy - Brownsville1.3 mi · 508
- Faulk Middle School1.4 mi · 885
Frequently asked questions
About Putegnat Elementary SchoolHow large is Putegnat Elementary School?
Putegnat Elementary School enrolls approximately 444 students in grades PK-05.
Is Putegnat Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Putegnat Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Putegnat Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Putegnat Elementary School is approximately 16.3:1 (27 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Putegnat Elementary School?
At Putegnat Elementary School, the student body is approximately 2% White, 97% Hispanic, 0% Asian.
Is Putegnat Elementary School public or private?
Putegnat Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by BROWNSVILLE ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.