Summary:
Zip code 78341 is served by a single elementary school, Benavides Elementary, which is part of the Benavides Independent School District (Isd) and serves a very small, rural community in Benavides, Texas, with just 61 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade.
This school presents a significant paradox: it spends a very high amount per student—$20,928, roughly double the Texas state average—yet its academic performance is critically low and declining. In the 2024-2025 school year, proficiency rates in Reading ranged from 14% to 27%, while Mathematics proficiency was 9% in 3rd grade and 0% in both 4th and 5th grades. Science proficiency was also 0%. The school's state percentile rank has dropped sharply from the 18th percentile in 2022-2023 to the 0th percentile for the current year, placing it among the very lowest-performing schools in Texas. This is despite a very low student-teacher ratio of 7.1:1, which typically allows for more individualized attention.
The challenges are likely tied to deep-seated socioeconomic factors, as 88.52% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a high poverty indicator. The school's performance is not just low but actively worsening, with 4th and 5th grade Math and Science hitting 0% proficiency—a critical red flag. Because there are no other elementary schools in the zip code, the entire educational foundation for young children in this community rests on this one school. If it fails to improve, the entire cohort of students is at risk of falling critically behind with no nearby alternatives for families.
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