Del Valle Elementary

Del Valle Elementary is a PK-5 school in Del Valle, TX, serving 726 students within the Del Valle Independent School District (Isd), an area where nearly 90% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school has historically ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Texas elementary schools, earning a 1-star rating, and its academic outcomes consistently lag behind both the district and state averages across nearly all subjects and grade levels.

One of the most critical weaknesses is in 5th Grade Science, where only 0.92% of students were proficient on the STAAR exam, a catastrophic result compared to the district (14.31%) and state (29.57%). This is far below nearby schools like Popham Elementary (10.53%) and Smith Elementary (41.67%). English-language reading scores are also the lowest in the area, with only 35.19% of 3rd graders proficient, trailing every nearby school including Hornsby-Dunlap Elementary (39.06%). Despite spending over $11,000 per student—more than high-performing Newton Collins Elementary ($10,811) and the charter Idea Montopolis Academy ($8,904)—the school’s results are far worse, pointing to potential issues with resource allocation or instructional quality rather than a lack of funding.

There are a few notable bright spots. The school ranks in the 45th percentile for its English Language Learners (ELL), a massive improvement from the previous year, suggesting its bilingual or ESL programs may be relatively effective. Additionally, performance on Spanish-language STAAR tests is often competitive with English scores, indicating stronger support for Spanish-speaking students in their native language. However, there is a stark disparity between genders, with male students ranking in the 28th percentile and female students in the 6th percentile, and a disturbing trend for African American students, whose ranking plummeted from the 67th percentile to the 1st percentile in just a few years, requiring immediate investigation.