Summary:
In zip code 78542, there is one middle school, Betty Harwell Middle, serving grades 6 through 8 in Edinburg, Texas, a community where nearly 95% of students come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Betty Harwell Middle is a large school with 1,301 students and a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 13.5:1. It is part of the Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District, which ranks in the 60th percentile statewide. The school presents a fascinating "two-speed" profile: its advanced students taking Algebra I and English I End-of-Course exams achieve near-perfect proficiency rates (95-100%), dramatically outperforming district and state averages. However, most on-grade-level STAAR scores fall below state averages, with 7th-grade math proficiency at just 21.94% compared to the state's 29.41%. A notable exception is 8th-grade math, where 58.39% of students are proficient, significantly exceeding the state average of 47.24%. Social Studies remains a persistent weakness, with only 23.91% proficiency versus the state's 31.69%.
Despite these challenges, the school shows positive momentum. Its statewide ranking has improved from the 30th percentile in 2024-2025 to the 47th percentile in 2025-2026, and it maintains an exceptionally low dropout rate of just 0.1% (compared to the district's 1.4%). This combination of elite advanced coursework performance, a specific strength in 8th-grade math, and a strong commitment to keeping students enrolled suggests a school that is effectively accelerating its top performers while making steady progress with the broader student body.
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