1
Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at UNIVERSAL ACADEMY this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
623
Combined
DISTRICT 963 · STATE 485
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·UNIVERSAL ACADEMY·NCES 480007007850
Universal Academy
2616 N MACARTHUR BLVD, IRVING, TX 75062 · (972) 255-1800 · Dallas County
GRADES PK–12COMBINED11-CITYCHARTERTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL623 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.3:1 · STATE 11.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
84%
522 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 65%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other combined schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 38 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 51 | 8% |
| Grade 1 | 61 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 59 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 61 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 55 | 9% |
| Grade 5 | 57 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 43 | 7% |
| Grade 7 | 47 | 8% |
| Grade 8 | 56 | 9% |
| Grade 9 | 26 | 4% |
| Grade 10 | 29 | 5% |
| Grade 11 | 24 | 4% |
| Grade 12 | 16 | 3% |
This year's kindergarten class (51) is 9% smaller than its 8th grade class (56).
Student demographics
51%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · 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
46.0%
TX avg 54.5% . +16.0pp since 2020
Mathematics
27.0%
TX avg 45.3% . -3.0pp 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 27 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Texas schools, those numbers are about 55 and 45. Reading scores are up about 16 points since 2020, while math scores are down about 3 points.
Performance levels, 2025-26
| Subject | Masters Grade Level | Meets Grade Level | Approaches Grade Level | Did Not Meet Grade Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 17.0% | 29.0% | 27.0% | 27.0% |
| Mathematics | 9.0% | 18.0% | 33.0% | 40.0% |
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% | 27.0% |
| 2024-25 | 47.0% | 31.0% |
| 2023-24 | 45.0% | 33.0% |
| 2022-23 | 37.0% | 29.0% |
| 2021-22 | 43.0% | 28.0% |
| 2020-21 | 30.0% | 30.0% |
% 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
35.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
37.9%
based on TX schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 38% 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 →
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
623
-112 (-15%) vs 2020
-19% since 2000-01, when it was 768
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 16.0:1
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 | 623 | 45.4 | 13.7:1 | 84% (522) |
| 2023-24 | 619 | 53.9 | 11.5:1 | 81% (500) |
| 2022-23 | 696 | 46.5 | 15.0:1 | 82% (573) |
| 2020-21 | 735 | 46 | 16.0:1 | 81% (594) |
| 2017-18 | 777 | 48.3 | 16.1:1 | 85% (663) |
| 2015-16 | 753 | 42 | 17.9:1 | 86% (644) |
| 2010-11 | 789 | 60 | 13.2:1 | 83% (658) |
| 2000-01 | 768 | 49 | 15.7:1 | 42% (319) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Universal Academy.
Since 2017-18: students down 20% (777 to 623); teachers down 6% (48.3 to 45.4).
About Universal Academy
Universal Academy is a medium-sized combined-grade school in Texas, located in IRVING. The grade span is pre-K through 12, and enrollment is 623 students. An average school in this group (combined schools in Texas) has about 485 students.
The school serves as its own district in federal records.
At 65%, Hispanic students outnumber all other groups at Universal Academy combined. Smaller groups are 25% Black, 5% Asian, and 2% White. County-wide, 41% of Dallas County residents are Hispanic. By the diversity index, Universal Academy comes in at 51%.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 13.7:1, with 45.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among combined schools in Texas is 11.7:1, lower than at this school. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 84% of enrollment.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Universal Academy is -2.1 points: 35.8% actual, 37.9% predicted.
In the county around the school, Dallas County, median household income is about $76,547, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 36% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. A total of 771 public schools operate in Dallas County, serving about 459,645 students.
Farine Elementary School is the public school closest to Universal Academy, about 0.4 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Universal Academy places 5th out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
Locale data from NCES put Universal Academy inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more (City: Large). The school is a charter school, funded with public money and operated under a charter agreement.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 735 to 623. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 16.0:1 to 13.7:1.
Questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Dallas County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,621,179
Census ACS
Median income
$76,547
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
771
459,645 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in UNIVERSAL ACADEMY
- Universal Academy - CoppellCombined · 1,302 students
- Universal Academy-BartonvilleElementary · 111 students
Other schools in IRVING
- Macarthur High SchoolHigh · 2,484 students
- Irving High SchoolHigh · 2,390 students
- Nimitz High SchoolHigh · 2,343 students
- Jack E Singley AcademyHigh · 1,697 students
- Brandenburg Elementary SchoolElementary · 947 students
- Great Hearts Irving UpperHigh · 937 students
Other Universal Academy schools
One other US public school is named Universal Academy. Universal Academy is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Universal AcademyDETROIT, MI · 695 students
Nearby schools
- Farine Elementary School0.4 mi · 916
- Brandenburg Elementary School0.4 mi · 947
- Travis Middle School0.7 mi · 936
- Macarthur High School0.8 mi · 2,484
- Lee Elementary School0.9 mi · 717
- Lively Elementary School1.0 mi · 794
Frequently asked questions
About Universal AcademyWhat is the total enrollment at Universal Academy?
Universal Academy enrolls approximately 623 students in grades PK-12.
What age range does Universal Academy serve?
Universal Academy serves students from grade PK through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Universal Academy?
Approximately 13.7:1 students per teacher at Universal Academy.
How diverse is Universal Academy?
Universal Academy reports a student body of 2% White, 65% Hispanic, 25% Black, 5% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Universal Academy public or private?
Universal Academy is a public K-12 school operated as a charter, overseen by UNIVERSAL ACADEMY.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.