Enrollment
165
High
DISTRICT 171 · STATE 796
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA MARIA ISD·NCES 483933021157
Santa Maria High School
33316 RIVER DR, SANTA MARIA, TX 78592 · (956) 565-9144 · Cameron County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL165 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% of Texas public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-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
7.0:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.8:1 · STATE 15.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
161 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 30 | 18% |
| Grade 10 | 50 | 30% |
| Grade 11 | 44 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 41 | 25% |
Student demographics
0%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 2% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within SANTA MARIA ISD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
STAAR 2025-26 . % Meets Grade Level or AboveReading
46.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +46.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
31.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +31.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 31 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 46 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 31 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 1.0% | 45.0% | 27.0% | 27.0% |
| Mathematics | 4.0% | 27.0% | 54.0% | 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 | 46.0% | 31.0% |
| 2024-25 | 41.0% | 12.0% |
| 2023-24 | 38.0% | 20.0% |
| 2022-23 | 25.0% | 7.0% |
| 2021-22 | 13.0% | 26.0% |
| 2020-21 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
% 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
37.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.0%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 38% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% 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 Santa Maria High School
Santa Maria High School's state test result (37.7% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria High School this school | 165 | 97.6% | 37.7% |
| Ser-Ninos Charter High HOUSTON | 169 | 95.9% | 53.3% |
| La Villa Early College High School LA VILLA | 179 | 92.7% | 36.8% |
| Tornillo High School TORNILLO | 241 | 94.2% | 43.7% |
| Fort Hancock High School FORT HANCOCK | 163 | 91.4% | 37.4% |
| Early College T-STEM Academy HOUSTON | 303 | 97.0% | 53.8% |
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 Santa Maria High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Cameron County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 37.7% | #1,198 of 1,385 | #26 of 27 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 31.0% | #1,081 of 1,425 ▲ 302 | #21 of 27 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.0% | #1,093 of 1,425 ▲ 39 | #24 of 27 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +22.5pp | #337 of 1,184 | #4 of 26 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 165 | #1,415 of 2,107 | #27 of 46 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 97.6% | #26 of 1,522 | #2 of 28 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.9% | #129 of 557 | #6 of 15 |
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
165
+3 (+2%) vs 2020
+42% since 2000-01, when it was 116
Student : Teacher
7.0:1
was 9.0:1
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 | 165 | 23.5 | 7.0:1 | 98% (161) |
| 2023-24 | 176 | 18.5 | 9.5:1 | 97% (171) |
| 2022-23 | 162 | 20.4 | 8.0:1 | 100% (162) |
| 2020-21 | 162 | 18 | 9.0:1 | 99% (161) |
| 2017-18 | 201 | 15 | 13.4:1 | 97% (195) |
| 2015-16 | 202 | 21 | 9.6:1 | 96% (193) |
| 2010-11 | 163 | 15 | 10.9:1 | 89% (145) |
| 2000-01 | 116 | 12 | 9.7:1 | 72% (83) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Santa Maria High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (201 to 165); teachers up 56% (15 to 23.5).
About Santa Maria High School
Santa Maria High School is one of the public schools in SANTA MARIA, Texas. It is a small high school. It covers grades 9 through 12, with a total enrollment of 165 students. Statewide, high schools in Texas average about 796 students each.
The district, SANTA MARIA ISD, operates 3 schools serving 512 students.
Federal enrollment data show Santa Maria High School is 100% Hispanic. Among all residents of Cameron County, the Hispanic share is about 89%. Pick two students at random and there is a 0% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Federal staffing data show 23.5 full-time-equivalent teachers at Santa Maria High School and a ratio of 7.0:1. That is 8.0 students per teacher below the 15.1:1 average for high schools in Texas. Federal records put free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at 98%. Compared with the 84% average for public schools in Cameron County, the school's rate is higher.
Santa Maria High School is graded C by allk12, scoring above 31% of Texas public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Santa Maria High School is 32.0%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 37.7%.
Federal survey data for Cameron County show that the median household income is $52,601, 22% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 21% of people live in poverty. There are 187 public schools in Cameron County, enrolling about 97,392 students in all.
Nearby, Tony Gonzalez Elementary School is about 0.2 miles away. Within five miles of Santa Maria High School, there are 3 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 38.1%; Santa Maria High School's is 37.7%, ranking 3rd of 8.
Locale: Rural: Fringe. In NCES terms, the school is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment was essentially flat over 4 years: 162 in 2020-21, 165 in 2024-25. By 2024-25, the school had 7.0 students per teacher, compared with 9.0 in 2020-21.
Posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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 SANTA MARIA ISD
- Tony Gonzalez Elementary SchoolElementary · 224 students
- Santa Maria Middle SchoolMiddle · 123 students
- Santa Maria Academic Academy-Options Campus (6-12)Elementary
- Santa Maria DAEPElementary
- Santa Maria JJAEPElementary
Other schools in SANTA MARIA
- Tony Gonzalez Elementary SchoolElementary · 224 students
- Santa Maria Middle SchoolMiddle · 123 students
- Santa Maria Academic Academy-Options Campus (6-12)Elementary
- Santa Maria DAEPElementary
- Santa Maria JJAEPElementary
Other Santa Maria High schools
One other US public school is named Santa Maria High. Santa Maria High School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Santa Maria HighSanta Maria, CA · 3,143 students
Nearby schools
- Tony Gonzalez Elementary School0.2 mi · 224
- Santa Maria Middle School0.2 mi · 123
- David G Sanchez Elementary School5.0 mi · 330
- Noemi Dominguez Elementary School5.4 mi · 387
- C E Vail Elementary School5.5 mi · 376
- Sgt Manuel Chacon Middle School5.8 mi · 518
Frequently asked questions
About Santa Maria High SchoolHow large is Santa Maria High School?
Santa Maria High School enrolls approximately 165 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Santa Maria High School serve?
Santa Maria High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Santa Maria High School?
Approximately 7.0:1 students per teacher at Santa Maria High School.
What is the student diversity at Santa Maria High School?
Student demographics at Santa Maria High School are roughly 100% Hispanic.
What district is Santa Maria High School in?
Santa Maria High School is part of SANTA MARIA ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.