Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 76009

There are four elementary schools in zip code 76009 (Alvarado, TX), serving grades PK-5 within the Alvarado Independent School District (Isd), a district ranked in the 32nd percentile statewide, where all schools face high levels of economic disadvantage with free or reduced lunch rates ranging from 63% to 76%.

Alvarado El-North stands out as the strongest academic performer, achieving the highest overall proficiency in Reading (52.97%) and Math (36.10%) while having the lowest percentage of economically disadvantaged students and a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 14.5:1. In contrast, Lillian Elementary faces the most significant challenges, with the highest poverty rate (76.05%), the lowest state ranking (19th percentile), and the highest per-student spending ($11,975) yet the weakest academic outcomes, particularly in 5th-grade Math (20.27% proficient). Alvarado Intermediate, the only school serving grades 3-5, acts as a critical bottleneck where all students converge, and its 35th percentile ranking suggests students may not be fully prepared entering 3rd grade. Alvarado El-South shows a standout 5th-grade cohort with 63.1% proficient in Reading and 60.23% in Math, far exceeding state averages.

A key finding is that Lillian Elementary spends the most per student and has the smallest class sizes (12.9:1), yet achieves the lowest test scores, indicating resource allocation inefficiency. Additionally, Spanish-language STAAR test scores are consistently lower than English scores across all schools, with 5th-grade Science proficiency in Spanish at 0% at Alvarado Intermediate, highlighting a critical need for improved bilingual support. While Alvarado El-North and Alvarado El-South have shown slight downward trends from higher historical rankings, Alvarado Intermediate has improved from the 27th to the 35th percentile, suggesting mixed progress within the district.