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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at SOUTH MIDDLE this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,246
Middle
DISTRICT 1,077 · STATE 643
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EDINBURG CISD·NCES 481818006102
South Middle School
601 W FREDDY GONZALEZ DR, EDINBURG, TX 78539 · (956) 289-2415 · Hidalgo County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,246 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 79% of Texas public middle schools
- A-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.
- C+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
14.2:1
88 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.7:1 · STATE 14.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
63%
779 students
DISTRICT 81% · STATE 65%
Community
1
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 | 427 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 377 | 30% |
| Grade 8 | 442 | 35% |
Student demographics
9%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
67.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +37.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
48.0%
TX avg 45.3% . +33.0pp since 2020
What this means: On the STAAR, Texas's statewide test, about 67 of every 100 students at this school read at grade level and about 48 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 33 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 37.0% | 30.0% | 18.0% | 15.0% |
| Mathematics | 15.0% | 33.0% | 25.0% | 27.0% |
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 | 67.0% | 48.0% |
| 2024-25 | 70.0% | 47.0% |
| 2023-24 | 70.0% | 42.0% |
| 2022-23 | 60.0% | 37.0% |
| 2021-22 | 54.0% | 33.0% |
| 2020-21 | 30.0% | 15.0% |
% 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
54.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.0%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 54% 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 South Middle School
South Middle School's state test result (54.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Middle School this school | 1,246 | 62.5% | 54.2% |
| Eastwood Middle School EL PASO | 1,280 | 65.2% | 50.4% |
| Central Middle School WESLACO | 1,060 | 65.6% | 53.6% |
| Col John O Ensor Middle School EL PASO | 1,070 | 68.0% | 59.2% |
| Stillman Middle School BROWNSVILLE | 964 | 67.7% | 56.8% |
| Sun Ridge Middle School EL PASO | 978 | 64.6% | 46.8% |
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 South Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Texas | In Hidalgo County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.2% | #372 of 1,635 | #8 of 54 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.0% | #604 of 1,670 ▼ 7 | #14 of 54 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 67.0% | #339 of 1,670 ▼ 57 | #5 of 54 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +9.0pp | #846 of 1,570 | #34 of 54 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,246 | #97 of 1,749 | #2 of 54 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.2:1 | #643 of 1,542 | #36 of 52 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 8.7% | #1,406 of 1,543 | #6 of 52 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 62.5% | #886 of 1,648 | #50 of 54 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.0% | #698 of 942 | #35 of 44 |
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
1,246
-126 (-9%) vs 2020
-35% since 1990-91, when it was 1,929
Student : Teacher
14.2:1
was 14.9:1
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 | 1,246 | 88 | 14.2:1 | 63% (779) |
| 2023-24 | 1,235 | 88.6 | 13.9:1 | 66% (812) |
| 2022-23 | 1,309 | 92.2 | 14.2:1 | 66% (860) |
| 2020-21 | 1,372 | 92 | 14.9:1 | 68% (934) |
| 2017-18 | 1,354 | 96.9 | 14.0:1 | 69% (940) |
| 2015-16 | 1,482 | 94 | 15.8:1 | 66% (972) |
| 2010-11 | 1,536 | 98 | 15.7:1 | 0% (0) |
| 2000-01 | 1,256 | 83 | 15.1:1 | 57% (710) |
| 1990-91 | 1,929 | 111 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (1,354 to 1,246); teachers down 9% (96.9 to 88).
About South Middle School
South Middle School is a middle school in EDINBURG, Texas, and it is part of EDINBURG CISD. Enrollment stands at 1,246 students, covering grades 6 through 8. The school is 94% above the average for middle schools in Texas.
South Middle School sits within EDINBURG CISD, which has 44 schools and 33,343 students.
The share of Hispanic students at South Middle School is 96%. Other groups make up 2% White. In Hidalgo County overall, the Hispanic share is about 92%. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 9%.
The school had 88 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25. Its student-to-teacher ratio is 14.2:1. It is about the same as the 14.4:1 average for middle schools in Texas. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 63%. The gap from the 85% average for public schools in Hidalgo County is 22 points.
On the allk12 Grade, South Middle School lands at A-, ahead of 79% of Texas public middle schools.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, South Middle School would score about 47.0%. It scores 54.2%, 7.3 points above that figure.
For Hidalgo County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $54,338 a year, roughly 21% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 23%. Public schools in Hidalgo County number 364, with about 212,859 students.
Jefferson Elementary School is about 0.6 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, South Middle School places 6th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
Federal data place South Middle School in the City: Mid-size locale, which means it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
In 2020-21, South Middle School enrolled 1,372 students. By 2024-25, that number had fallen to 1,246.
The allk12 page for South Middle School lets the school community talk about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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
- Robert R Vela High SchoolHigh · 2,101 students
- Betty Harwell Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,301 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
- Robert R Vela High SchoolHigh · 2,101 students
- Vanguard BeethovenCombined · 1,782 students
- Betty Harwell Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,301 students
Other South Middle schools
17 other US public schools in 14 states are named South Middle. South Middle School is the largest of the 18.
- South Middle SchoolWaukee, IA · 1,092 students
- SOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOLBRENTWOOD, NY · 975 students
- SOUTH MIDDLE SCHOOLNAMPA, ID · 836 students
- South Middle SchoolArlington Heights, IL · 812 students
- South MiddleEau Claire, WI · 797 students
Nearby schools
- Jefferson Elementary School0.6 mi · 511
- Lee Elementary School0.7 mi · 414
- South Texas ISD Preparatory Academy0.8 mi · 802
- South Texas ISD World Scholars0.8 mi · 403
- JJAEP-Southwest Key Program0.8 mi · 1
- Freddy Gonzalez Elementary School0.9 mi · 517
Frequently asked questions
About South Middle SchoolHow large is South Middle School?
South Middle School enrolls approximately 1,246 students in grades 06-08.
Is South Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
South Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at South Middle School?
Approximately 14.2:1 students per teacher at South Middle School.
How diverse is South Middle School?
South Middle School reports a student body of 2% White, 96% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees South Middle School?
South Middle 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.