United Independent School District (Isd)

The United Independent School District (Isd) in Laredo, Texas, oversees 51 schools serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade, and it holds a solid 3-star rating, placing it in the 70th percentile of Texas districts. This analysis highlights standout schools and key trends to help parents understand the educational landscape.

Several schools shine as top performers. San Isidro Elementary is a consistent 5-star school, ranking in the 96th percentile with exceptional reading and math scores, and it serves a student body with the district's lowest free/reduced lunch rate at 35.89%. In contrast, Kazen Elementary is a remarkable success story, jumping to the 98th percentile despite an 86.92% poverty rate, with 5th-grade reading proficiency at 92.73%. Among high schools, United High School and John B Alexander High School lead with 4-star ratings and graduation rates above 97%. On the other end, Lyndon B Johnson High School struggles with a 1-star rating and low English proficiency, while Salvador Garcia Middle is the lowest-ranked middle school, facing extreme economic challenges with a 98.06% free/reduced lunch rate.

A critical district-wide weakness is middle school math, where proficiency scores for 6th and 7th graders are significantly lower than reading scores. For example, at United Middle, only about 44% of 6th graders were proficient in math compared to 66% in reading. Science scores also lag behind at all levels, as seen at Trautmann Elementary, where only 39.67% of 5th graders were proficient in science versus 76.29% in reading. The district's alternative schools, like United Step Academy, serve a small number of at-risk students with unique needs and are not comparable to standard schools. Overall, while economic disadvantage is a factor, schools like Kazen Elementary prove that strong leadership and effective strategies can overcome it.