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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 78501

At a glance

Schools

5,099

Students

Districts

Top rankedThigpen-Zavala Elementary603^rd of 4,643 Texas elementary schools

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Biggest riser

McAuliffe Elementary up 1,167 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Fields Elementary 12.5 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

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Summary:

This analysis examines 12 elementary schools in zip code 78501, serving grades PK-5 in parts of McAllen and Edinburg, Texas, within districts including McAllen Independent School District (Isd), Idea Public Schools, Sharyland Independent School District (Isd), Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, and Horizon Montessori Public Schools.

The standout school in the area is Thigpen-Zavala Elementary, which ranks in the 87th percentile statewide despite having the highest poverty rate (96.6% free/reduced lunch), demonstrating exceptional academic performance that far exceeds state averages in Reading, Math, and Science. In contrast, Wilson Elementary is the lowest-ranked school at the 13th percentile, with only 20.31% of 5th graders proficient in Math compared to 46.24% statewide, indicating a need for significant intervention. Milam Elementary is the largest school (811 students) with the lowest poverty rate (53.39%) and ranks in the 84th percentile, serving as a benchmark for consistent, efficient performance. Charter schools show mixed results: Idea McAllen Academy underperforms at the 36th percentile, while Horizon Montessori - Stem Academy ranks at the 56th percentile with strong 5th-grade Reading scores (78.57% proficient) but weak Math scores.

Key metrics reveal an average free/reduced lunch rate of about 84%, with spending per student ranging from $7,983 at Idea McAllen Academy to $13,224 at Alvarez Elementary. Notably, higher spending does not guarantee success—Alvarez spends the most but ranks in the 33rd percentile, while Milam spends less ($10,040) and ranks in the 84th percentile. The McAllen ISD district shows a paradox of extremes, containing both the top and bottom performers, suggesting individual school leadership matters greatly. Additionally, students taking the STAAR test in Spanish often outperform the state average for Spanish test-takers but still lag behind English-proficient peers, indicating effective bilingual programs that have not yet closed the achievement gap.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				STAAR Spanish Reading (2026)			STAAR Spanish Mathematics (2026)			STAAR EOC Algebra I (2026)	STAAR EOC English I Reading (2026)	STAAR Reading (2026)					STAAR Mathematics (2026)						STAAR Social Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	STAAR Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	STAAR Spanish Reading 4th Grade	STAAR Spanish Reading 5th Grade	STAAR Spanish Mathematics 3rd Grade	STAAR Spanish Mathematics 4th Grade	STAAR Spanish Mathematics 5th Grade	STAAR EOC Algebra I End of Course	STAAR EOC English I Reading End of Course	STAAR Reading 3rd Grade	STAAR Reading 4th Grade	STAAR Reading 5th Grade	STAAR Reading 6th Grade	STAAR Reading 7th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	STAAR Mathematics 4th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 5th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 6th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 7th Grade	STAAR Mathematics 8th Grade	STAAR Social Studies 8th Grade	Total
Horizon Montessori - Stem Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	320 N Main St	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	Horizon Montessori Public Schools	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 631-0234	331	22	15.2	81.3%	6 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	322 (97.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	51.3	2052^nd of 4643 public elementary schools	55.8%		54.2	1897^th of 4651 public elementary schools	59.2%	155							31.6	73.7	30.4	54.8	78.6	61.8	47.6	43.5	32.3	37.0	44.1	14.3	42.9	31.6	$10,546
Idea McAllen Academy	Public, Charter	K-5	201 N Bentsen Rd	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	Idea Public Schools	Yes	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 429-4100	738	34	21.4	78.3%	32 (4.3%)	5 (0.7%)	694 (94.0%)	7 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37.2	2946^th of 4643 public elementary schools	36.5%		46	2382^nd of 4651 public elementary schools	48.8%	564									42.5	45.5	53.9			42.5	41.7	31.3					$9,327
Alvarez Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2606 Gumwood Ave	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	McAllen Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 971-4471	435	28	15.8	96.8%	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	420 (96.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.3%)	35.2	3085^th of 4643 public elementary schools	33.6%		44.2	2485^th of 4651 public elementary schools	46.6%	600		30.0							58.3	34.4	43.6			47.5	23.7	36.6					$10,669
Fields Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	500 W Dallas Ave	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	McAllen Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 971-4344	443	35	12.5	89.6%	8 (1.8%)	1 (0.2%)	429 (96.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	58.2	1703^rd of 4643 public elementary schools	63.3%		54.2	1895^th of 4651 public elementary schools	59.3%	192		66.7			20.0				52.5	56.1	71.2			40.3	37.9	60.4					$13,525
Jackson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	501 Harvey	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	McAllen Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 971-4277	548	39	13.8	92.0%	24 (4.4%)	3 (0.5%)	518 (94.5%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	57.3	1755^th of 4643 public elementary schools	62.2%		55.4	1813^th of 4651 public elementary schools	61.0%	58									48.2	51.3	59.3			50.0	51.9	52.3					$11,276
Milam Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3800 N Main St	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	McAllen Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 971-4333	811	52	15.6	53.4%	75 (9.2%)	1 (0.1%)	719 (88.7%)	10 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.7%)	80.5	747^th of 4643 public elementary schools	83.9%		79.8	754^th of 4651 public elementary schools	83.8%	7									62.6	70.9	73.2			55.2	61.8	60.4					$9,793
Seguin Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2200 N 29th St	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	McAllen Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 971-4565	530	37	14.4	95.8%	19 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	511 (96.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47.7	2236^th of 4643 public elementary schools	51.8%		70.2	1130^th of 4651 public elementary schools	75.7%	1106	20.0								48.4	45.2	72.9			35.8	44.4	39.4					$11,174
Wilson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1200 Hackberry St	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	McAllen Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 971-4525	408	30	13.8	91.2%	17 (4.2%)	2 (0.5%)	387 (94.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	30.8	3393^rd of 4643 public elementary schools	26.9%		19.7	4043^rd of 4651 public elementary schools	13.1%	650									62.1	31.0	50.0			44.8	27.6	34.8					$11,941
McAuliffe Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3000 Daffodil Ave	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	McAllen Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 971-4400	385	28	13.7	85.2%	14 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	369 (95.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	55.2	1854^th of 4643 public elementary schools	60.1%		36.5	3021^st of 4651 public elementary schools	35.0%	1167	12.5								55.8	51.9	70.4			38.5	46.4	44.6					$13,491
Thigpen-Zavala Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2500 Galveston Ave	McAllen	78501	Hidalgo County	McAllen Independent School District (Isd)	No	No	(n/a)	Yes	(956) 971-4377	470	32	14.9	96.6%	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	463 (98.5%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	84.3	603^rd of 4643 public elementary schools	87.0%		87.8	462^nd of 4651 public elementary schools	90.1%	141			80.0			20.0			60.5	71.4	78.3			53.5	74.0	65.2					$10,795

Cities Near Zip Code 78501

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
McAllen	0.27 mi	53	277^th
Mission	2.83 mi	59	477^th
Pharr	2.84 mi	39	311^th
Alamo	3.54 mi	14	432^nd
Edinburg	3.6 mi	58	354^th

See the top TX Texas cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Texas Education Agency.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.