Summary:
In zip code 78341, there is a single high school, Benavides Secondary, which serves grades 6 through 12 with a total enrollment of 87 students in the rural community of Benavides, Texas, part of the Benavides Independent School District (Isd).
Benavides Secondary presents a fascinating contrast between its middle school and high school programs. The high school side is a standout performer, boasting a 96.6% graduation rate, a 0% dropout rate, and exceptional scores on End-of-Course (EOC) exams. For the 2025-2026 school year, proficiency rates in Biology (90.91%), English I Reading (83.33%), and Algebra I (75%) all significantly exceed state averages. The school's state ranking has also seen dramatic improvement, jumping from the 21st percentile to the 69th percentile over the last three years. However, the middle school grades (6-8) struggle considerably, particularly in math, where 6th and 7th grade proficiency rates were 0% and 8th grade math was only 21.43%. This creates a unique challenge for the school, which has a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 5.5:1 and high per-student spending of $22,351.
Despite serving a student population where nearly 90% are economically disadvantaged, the school has achieved remarkable high school success, suggesting effective retention and instruction in the upper grades. A notable weakness is U.S. History, where proficiency (47.06%) falls well below the state average (70.17%). The school's high spending and small class sizes have not yet translated to middle school success, indicating that the issue may be about instructional effectiveness or curriculum alignment rather than a lack of resources. Overall, Benavides Secondary is a school of stark contrasts, with a high-performing high school that is defying the odds and a middle school that requires targeted intervention to match that success.
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