The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Math. The lowest is 33% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mcnair El
McNair Elementary is a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade public school in Denton, Texas, part of Denton ISD. It sits in the southern part of the city, a ZIP code that publicly reported sources describe as quieter and more suburban in feel than the university-adjacent neighborhoods near the downtown square. The school draws a genuinely diverse student body: Hispanic students make up the largest group, followed by white students, with Black, multiracial, and Asian students also represented. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this school among those serving a higher-economic-need population within the district. English learner counts and special education rates were not available in the data provided.
On the Texas STAAR assessment, McNair's results tell a layered story. The grade-level picture is sharpest at fifth grade, where proficiency rates in both reading and math sit at roughly three-fifths of students tested, a solid showing. Third-grade math results (tested in English) are in a similar range. Where the numbers fall more noticeably is in the earlier grades where the Spanish-language STAAR was administered, particularly third-grade reading, where the data shows almost no students reaching the proficiency threshold. The tested groups for those Spanish assessments are small, so a parent should be cautious about reading too much into a single year's result, but the pattern is still worth asking the school about directly, especially for families with children in early bilingual or dual-language tracks.
Zooming out to the school-wide picture across all tested subjects and grades, McNair's overall proficiency index places it just above the midpoint relative to districts in Denton County. Most students are reaching the "Approaches" standard across subjects, meaning they are clearing the state's baseline bar. The share reaching "Meets" grade level, the more demanding threshold, is in the mid-to-upper range of what Texas typically sees at Title I-eligible elementary campuses, and a meaningful fraction reach the "Masters" level, the state's top tier. Math tends to run a few points ahead of reading school-wide, and science at fifth grade is somewhat softer. Multi-year trend data was only available for a single year, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent a trajectory upward, downward, or flat.
Denton ISD itself is in an active period of change that matters for families considering McNair. Voters approved a major bond measure in 2023, the largest capital plan in district history, funding new and replacement campuses, a fifth high school, and an advanced technology center, structured so it would not raise the debt-service tax rate. More recently, in late 2025, voters approved a separate tax rate election adding a modest permanent increase to the maintenance-and-operations rate to address a budget shortfall and fund teacher pay and safety. The district also consolidated some positions over the past two years, including classroom positions, and is relaunching a full-time virtual program called Denton Digital beginning in fall 2026, which would give McNair families an additional enrollment option. A nearby elementary, Paloma Creek, is being repurposed after years of not meeting state standards, and its students are being rezoned to neighboring campuses for 2026-27; families should verify directly with the district whether any rezoning touches McNair's attendance boundary.
Housing near the school sits above the Texas statewide median home value and above the national median, with modest year-over-year softening. Rents are essentially flat year over year. The price-to-income ratio at the national level places this market in the moderately stretched category, and estimated monthly mortgage costs reflect that reality for buyers entering now.
Program offerings specific to McNair were not available in the data, so a parent interested in UIL, enrichment, bilingual program structure, or extracurricular activities should reach out to the school directly.
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