1
What's the one class at ROBERT R VELA H S every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,101
High
DISTRICT 1,684 · STATE 796
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EDINBURG CISD·NCES 481818012159
Robert R Vela High School
801 E CANTON RD, EDINBURG, TX 78539 · (956) 289-2650 · Hidalgo County
GRADES 09–12HIGH12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,101 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Texas public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
147 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.8:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
62%
1,297 students
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 558 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 542 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 533 | 25% |
| Grade 12 | 468 | 22% |
Student demographics
6%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 4% · 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
60.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +31.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
54.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +44.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 60 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 54 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 31 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 | 9.0% | 51.0% | 19.0% | 21.0% |
| Mathematics | 23.0% | 31.0% | 31.0% | 15.0% |
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 | 60.0% | 54.0% |
| 2024-25 | 57.0% | 44.0% |
| 2023-24 | 59.0% | 49.0% |
| 2022-23 | 35.0% | 34.0% |
| 2021-22 | 36.0% | 38.0% |
| 2020-21 | 29.0% | 10.0% |
% 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
55.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.3%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% 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 Robert R Vela High School
Robert R Vela High School's state test result (55.2% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Robert R Vela High School this school | 2,101 | 61.7% | 55.2% |
| Veterans Memorial Early College High School BROWNSVILLE | 2,216 | 64.0% | 66.0% |
| McAllen High School MCALLEN | 2,134 | 63.2% | 54.2% |
| Memorial High School MCALLEN | 2,021 | 64.8% | 54.8% |
| Americas High School EL PASO | 2,049 | 66.3% | 58.1% |
| Sharyland Pioneer High School MISSION | 1,511 | 63.1% | 59.6% |
Matched among Texas high 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 Robert R Vela High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.2% | #646 of 1,385 | #22 of 56 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #426 of 1,425 ▲ 166 | #14 of 56 ▲ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 60.0% | #623 of 1,425 ▲ 34 | #19 of 56 ▲ 2 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +22.5pp | #327 of 1,184 | #6 of 56 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,101 | #289 of 2,107 | #10 of 84 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.3:1 | #606 of 1,344 | #23 of 56 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 6.1% | #1,254 of 1,346 | #20 of 56 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.7% | #760 of 1,522 | #62 of 65 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.9% | #276 of 557 | #14 of 31 |
Ranked against other public high 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
2,101
-184 (-8%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
14.3:1
was 14.0:1
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 | 2,101 | 146.7 | 14.3:1 | 62% (1,297) |
| 2023-24 | 2,192 | 155.3 | 14.1:1 | 65% (1,435) |
| 2022-23 | 2,189 | 156.9 | 13.9:1 | 62% (1,359) |
| 2020-21 | 2,285 | 163 | 14.0:1 | 62% (1,422) |
| 2017-18 | 2,305 | 162.1 | 14.2:1 | 69% (1,581) |
| 2015-16 | 2,226 | 155 | 14.4:1 | 68% (1,521) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Robert R Vela High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (2,305 to 2,101); teachers down 10% (162.1 to 146.7).
About Robert R Vela High School
Robert R Vela High School is a large high school in Texas, with an address in EDINBURG. A federal count lists 2,101 students at the school, in grades 9 through 12. Average enrollment for high schools in Texas is about 796, so this school runs 164% bigger than that.
EDINBURG CISD is responsible for 44 schools, Robert R Vela High School included, with 33,343 students in all.
Robert R Vela High School enrolls a student body that is 97% Hispanic. Robert R Vela High School has a diversity index of 6%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Its 146.7 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 14.3:1. That ratio is under the 15.1:1 average for high schools in Texas. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 62%. That rate is below the 85% average among public schools in Hidalgo County.
allk12 grades Robert R Vela High School a B. The grade compares the school only with Texas public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Robert R Vela High School is 7.8 points above the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 55.2% actual, 47.3% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Texas.
Within Hidalgo County, median household income is about $54,338, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 21%, and roughly 23% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Hidalgo County number 364 and enroll about 212,859.
The nearest other public school, Vanguard Beethoven, is about 0.5 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Robert R Vela High School ranks 2nd of 8 on average proficiency.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Mid-size, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 8%, from 2,285 to 2,101.
If you have questions about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at Robert R Vela High School, you can post them here. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 EDINBURG CISD
- Economedes High SchoolHigh · 2,689 students
- Edinburg North High SchoolHigh · 2,542 students
- Edinburg High SchoolHigh · 2,267 students
- Betty Harwell Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,301 students
- South Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,246 students
- Francisco Barrientes Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,064 students
Other schools in EDINBURG
- Economedes High SchoolHigh · 2,689 students
- Edinburg North High SchoolHigh · 2,542 students
- Edinburg High SchoolHigh · 2,267 students
- Vanguard BeethovenCombined · 1,782 students
- Betty Harwell Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,301 students
- South Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,246 students
Nearby schools
- Vanguard Beethoven0.5 mi · 1,782
- Edinburg Collegiate High School0.9 mi · 466
- JJAEP-Southwest Key Program0.9 mi · 1
- Francisco Barrientes Middle School0.9 mi · 1,064
- Travis Elementary School1.1 mi · 337
- South Middle School1.1 mi · 1,246
Frequently asked questions
About Robert R Vela High SchoolHow many students attend Robert R Vela High School?
Robert R Vela High School enrolls approximately 2,101 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Robert R Vela High School serve?
Robert R Vela High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Robert R Vela High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Robert R Vela High School is approximately 14.3:1 (147 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Robert R Vela High School?
At Robert R Vela High School, the student body is approximately 2% White, 97% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Robert R Vela High School?
Robert R Vela High School is overseen by EDINBURG CISD in Hidalgo County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.