Enrollment
123
Middle
DISTRICT 171 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA MARIA ISD·NCES 483933013399
Santa Maria Middle School
11142 MILITARY RD, SANTA MARIA, TX 78592 · (956) 565-5348 · Cameron County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL123 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 30% of Texas public middle schools
- DTest 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.
- 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
9.8:1
13 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.8:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
121 students
DISTRICT 99% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 35 | 28% |
| Grade 7 | 42 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 46 | 37% |
Student demographics
2%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
Students here typically continue to
Santa Maria Middle School→Santa Maria High School
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% . +23.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
46.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +41.0pp 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 46 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 23 points since 2020, while math scores are up about 41 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 22.0% | 24.0% | 34.0% | 20.0% |
| Mathematics | 19.0% | 27.0% | 24.0% | 30.0% |
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% | 46.0% |
| 2024-25 | 38.0% | 31.0% |
| 2023-24 | 38.0% | 30.0% |
| 2022-23 | 31.0% | 16.0% |
| 2021-22 | 28.0% | 13.0% |
| 2020-21 | 23.0% | 5.0% |
% 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
28.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.7%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% 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 Middle School
Santa Maria Middle School's state test result (28.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Maria Middle School this school | 123 | 98.4% | 28.3% |
| La Villa Middle School LA VILLA | 106 | 93.4% | 31.0% |
| El Paso Leadership Academy EL PASO | 181 | 97.8% | 28.9% |
| Tafolla College Prep Middle School SAN ANTONIO | 180 | 97.2% | N/A |
| Stafford Elementary School SAN ANTONIO | 102 | 91.2% | 18.4% |
| North East STEM Academy HOUSTON | 133 | 99.2% | 30.5% |
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 Santa Maria Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Cameron County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.3% | #1,444 of 1,635 | #29 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 46.0% | #700 of 1,670 ▲ 566 | #14 of 30 ▲ 11 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.0% | #1,234 of 1,670 ▲ 223 | #30 of 30 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +22.5pp | #208 of 1,570 | #1 of 29 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 123 | #1,653 of 1,749 | #29 of 30 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.4% | #26 of 1,648 | #2 of 30 |
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
123
-14 (-10%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
9.8:1
was 11.4:1
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 | 123 | 12.6 | 9.8:1 | 98% (121) |
| 2023-24 | 121 | 13.6 | 8.9:1 | 99% (120) |
| 2022-23 | 129 | 11.9 | 10.9:1 | 100% (129) |
| 2020-21 | 137 | 12 | 11.4:1 | 98% (134) |
| 2017-18 | 69 | 5.7 | 12.1:1 | 100% (69) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Santa Maria Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 78% (69 to 123); teachers up 120% (5.7 to 12.6).
About Santa Maria Middle School
Santa Maria Middle School is a very small middle-grades school in SANTA MARIA, Texas. It teaches 123 students in grades 6 through 8. By comparison, middle schools in Texas enroll about 643 students on average.
Santa Maria Middle School is one of the 3 schools that make up SANTA MARIA ISD (512 students in total).
Hispanic students are 99% of those enrolled at Santa Maria Middle School. In Cameron County overall, about 89% of residents are Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 2, compared with 70 nationally.
For every teacher at Santa Maria Middle School, there are about 9.8 students; the school has 12.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. Compared with the 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas, this school's ratio is lower. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 98%. Across public schools in Cameron County, the average is 84%.
On the allk12 Grade, Santa Maria Middle School lands at C, ahead of 30% of Texas public middle schools.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Santa Maria Middle School is -3.4 points: 28.3% actual, 31.7% predicted.
Cameron County is the school's county. There, median household income comes to about $52,601, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 22%, and roughly 21% of residents are in poverty. There are 187 public schools in the county, enrolling about 97,392, Santa Maria Middle School among them.
Among nearby public schools, Tony Gonzalez Elementary School is closest at less than a tenth of a mile. Santa Maria Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with 3 others within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 39.4% proficiency; Santa Maria Middle School posts 28.3%.
Federal data place Santa Maria Middle School in the Rural: Fringe locale, which means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell from 137 to 123, a 10% decline. The student-to-teacher ratio dropped from 11.4:1 in 2020-21 to 9.8:1 in 2024-25.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Santa Maria Middle School. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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 High SchoolHigh · 165 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 High SchoolHigh · 165 students
- Santa Maria Academic Academy-Options Campus (6-12)Elementary
- Santa Maria DAEPElementary
- Santa Maria JJAEPElementary
Other Santa Maria Middle schools
One other US public school is named Santa Maria Middle. Santa Maria Middle School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Santa Maria Middle SchoolPHOENIX, AZ · 591 students
Nearby schools
- Tony Gonzalez Elementary School0.1 mi · 224
- Santa Maria High School0.2 mi · 165
- David G Sanchez Elementary School4.9 mi · 330
- Noemi Dominguez Elementary School5.3 mi · 387
- C E Vail Elementary School5.4 mi · 376
- Sgt Manuel Chacon Middle School5.6 mi · 518
Frequently asked questions
About Santa Maria Middle SchoolHow large is Santa Maria Middle School?
Santa Maria Middle School enrolls approximately 123 students in grades 06-08.
Is Santa Maria Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Santa Maria Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Santa Maria Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Santa Maria Middle School is approximately 9.8:1 (13 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Santa Maria Middle School?
At Santa Maria Middle School, the student body is approximately 99% Hispanic, 1% Black.
What district is Santa Maria Middle School in?
Santa Maria Middle School is part of SANTA MARIA ISD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.