The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 21% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Palm Grove El
Palm Grove Elementary is a small, neighborhood school serving pre-K through fifth grade in Brownsville's Southmost area. Nearly all of its students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic. The school sits within a district facing structural budget challenges that have reshaped its footprint over the past two years, including school consolidations in the Southmost neighborhood where Palm Grove is located.
On state assessments, Palm Grove's results show uneven performance across grade levels and subjects. In math, third graders are notably behind, with less than half meeting proficiency. Fourth graders show modest gains, and fifth graders reach just over half. In English language arts, fifth-grade performance aligns with fourth grade at about half proficient, while third grade sits at just under half. Science results at fifth grade are substantially weaker, with only a fifth of students proficient. Across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among elementary schools in Cameron County, though that reflects a relatively low bar across the county rather than strong absolute performance.
A parent may want to look into the school's English-learner program with the school directly, as demographic data on English learners was not available in the records reviewed. The school does serve young pre-K and kindergarten students, who are not assessed on state tests, so the picture of what happens in those early grades rests on direct observation or conversations with staff.
Brownsville ISD is in a contraction phase. Declining enrollment and a falling birth rate have strained the district's budget for several years. In 2024, the district consolidated three pairs of elementary schools in the Southmost area, closing three campuses and moving students and families to nearby schools. A bond package to address long-deferred facility repairs at roughly two-thirds of the district's schools failed by a 2-to-1 margin in November 2025, the district's first bond attempt in years. That means aging roofs, air-conditioning systems, and windows at many buildings, including potentially Palm Grove's, will continue to be handled on an emergency basis rather than replaced systematically. Federal funding cuts in 2025 also forced reductions to after-school academy programs district-wide, scaling them back to three afternoons a week instead of fuller schedules. For 2026-2027, the district did approve improved student-teacher ratios for middle school and fifth grade, moving from 26-to-1 to 22-to-1, a direct change that could affect classroom size for Palm Grove's fifth graders.
Brownsville itself is growing rapidly, driven by major investments from SpaceX, the Port of Brownsville, and other economic activity. The city issued a historically high volume of residential building permits in 2025 and is actively pursuing housing development to keep pace with population expansion. Median home values in the 78521 zip code where Palm Grove is located are modest, and rents are similarly low relative to national benchmarks, making housing affordable for many families. The historic downtown has been reinvested with walkable public spaces and parks, and the city has higher education anchors in UTRGV and Texas Southmost College, both in the downtown core. This growth and affordability context sits alongside the school district's contraction, creating a tension families may notice as they consider what school capacity and resources look like in a neighborhood experiencing real population pressure but served by a shrinking district.
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