Eduardo Mata Montessori School, Dallas TX

Original Research by School Decision on Eduardo Mata Montessori School

Eduardo Mata Montessori School is a pre-K through eighth-grade school in Dallas serving a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school operates as a regular public school within Dallas ISD and sits in a zip code where housing values are moderate for the metro area and rents are accessible.

The school's academic profile is mixed and requires close attention. In English language arts, results vary sharply by grade. Fourth-grade students showed proficiency at a moderate-to-strong level, and sixth- and eighth-grade students performed notably well, with strong proficiency rates in both grades. Reading is a relative strength. In contrast, math proficiency is consistently low across all tested grades, with most grades showing fewer than half of students meeting state standards. Only fifth grade reached proficiency near the midpoint. Science proficiency is quite low, with results in the low range across both tested grades. Social studies also shows a low proficiency rate at eighth grade. The school is testing students in both English and Spanish, with a small cohort of students assessed in Spanish-language literacy in some grades, though results there are limited by small test numbers.

When compared to other schools in Dallas County, Eduardo Mata's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a position that reflects particular strength in reading proficiency across the middle grades even as math and science lag. This pairing means the school has real assets in literacy instruction but significant work to do in quantitative and science reasoning.

The school's student composition reflects Dallas itself: nearly three-quarters of the enrollment is Hispanic, with a meaningful share of white students and smaller populations of Black students and others. Economically, about two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that most families have lower incomes. The school is not operating a charter; it is part of Dallas ISD's regular school portfolio.

Context matters here. Dallas ISD recently approved a historic bond to rebuild aging school facilities and is implementing district-wide changes, including a new mathematics curriculum designed to deepen mastery rather than focus on test prep, and an opt-out policy for advanced coursework that automatically enrolls high-performing students into honors classes. For a school currently showing weak math results, the new curriculum rollout may be a meaningful inflection point. A parent considering Eduardo Mata might want to discuss directly with the school how the new math approach is being implemented at this site, what supports are in place for students struggling in quantitative skills, and how the broader reading strengths can be extended into science and social studies learning.

The Montessori pedagogy advertised in the school's name is not visible in the data provided. A parent drawn to Montessori methods specifically should verify what that approach looks like in practice across the grade spans here, since the school sits within a traditional district framework.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 19% · ▲ 21 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 21% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 46% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 32% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 39% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 314%

School 14% · District 50% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 52% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 58% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 48% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 48% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 52% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 13% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 37% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolDALLAS ISD, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income52%Higher-income83%31 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income68%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income75%Higher-income85%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income69%Higher-income82%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income45%Higher-income81%36 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income78%Higher-income73%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income41%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income36%Higher-income52%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income55%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income10%Higher-income10%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income16%Higher-income69%53 pp gap