Summary:
Edcouch, Texas, is home to a single middle school, David Ybarra Fine Arts Academy, which serves 264 students in 6th grade and is part of the Edcouch-Elsa Independent School District (Isd), a district ranked in the 9th percentile statewide with a high level of economic disadvantage (90.15% of students receiving free or reduced lunch). The school boasts a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.5:1 and per-student spending of $10,269, but its overall average proficiency across all STAAR tests is 31.3%, well below the state average of 45.9%.
The school exhibits a striking "bimodal" performance pattern. Its standout strength is Algebra I, where 89.29% of students scored proficient—dramatically higher than the district average of 24.68% and the state average of 54.03%. This suggests a highly selective group of advanced students. Conversely, its weakest area is 8th Grade Social Studies, with only 9.19% proficient compared to the state average of 31.69%. The gap between these two subjects is a staggering 80.1 percentage points. Additionally, 7th Grade Mathematics is a significant challenge, with only 14.49% proficient, roughly half the state average.
Year-over-year data for 6th grade reveals a concerning decline: Reading proficiency dropped from 40.31% to 33.46%, and Math proficiency fell from 26.46% to 24.41%. While the school serves only 6th grade, test scores for 7th and 8th grades are reported, likely reflecting the district's entire middle school cohort. Despite high poverty levels, the exceptional Algebra I scores demonstrate that targeted interventions can yield high achievement for a small group of students, even as the school struggles with core subjects and declining trends.
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