The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Math. The lowest is 17% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lamar El
Lamar Elementary sits on East Cliff Drive in El Paso's central urban core, part of El Paso ISD. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and draws an overwhelmingly Hispanic student population, reflecting the binational, border-city character of the surrounding neighborhood. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing this squarely among the district's high-poverty campuses. English learner counts were not available in the data, but the presence of Spanish-language STAAR assessments in the upper grades points to a bilingual or dual-language dimension worth asking the school about directly.
There is one thing every prospective family needs to know before anything else: Lamar Elementary is closed as of the 2025-26 school year. The EPISD board voted in November 2024 to shutter six elementary campuses in the first phase of its publicly reported "Destination District Redesign," and Lamar was on that list. Students who would have attended are now assigned to a different campus, and families should contact El Paso ISD directly to confirm their child's new school and transportation situation.
Because the school has closed, its academic results from the most recent school year are worth understanding as historical context rather than a guide to what a child will encounter going forward. Texas STAAR results showed a mixed picture across grades and subjects. Third-grade reading and math proficiency rates sat right around the midpoint, meaning roughly half of tested students reached the meets-grade-level threshold. Fourth-grade reading came in similarly, while fourth-grade math was somewhat below that. Fifth-grade results in reading and math were considerably stronger, though the tested groups at those grade levels were quite small, which means those figures can shift substantially from one cohort to the next. Science at fifth grade was the weakest result in the data, with only a small fraction of students reaching proficiency. When placed against other districts in El Paso County, the school's overall proficiency index was in the top quartile of the comparison set, which is a meaningful position given the concentration of economic disadvantage among its students. A parent looking for more context on what drove those results, or what happened to specific student groups, would want to ask El Paso ISD about the receiving campus's current performance data.
The broader EPISD picture matters here too. The district has publicly reported a projected budget deficit and declining enrollment as the drivers behind the consolidation. At the same time, the redesign has involved expanding specialized programs such as Montessori, STEM academies, fine arts academies, and extended-day care at receiving campuses, so families displaced by closures may find their new campus carries programming that Lamar itself did not offer. A potential bond election, possibly as soon as late 2026, could bring facility upgrades including refrigerated air conditioning and security improvements, though that process is still in early planning stages.
El Paso itself is a large, car-dependent city where Fort Bliss, the public school districts, health systems, and UTEP anchor the employment base. Home values near the school's zip code sit below the Texas state benchmark and well below the national figure, making the area relatively accessible for buyers. Rents have been rising at a pace faster than home prices in recent months. The neighborhood near East Cliff Drive is part of older, central El Paso rather than the suburban growth corridors on the far east and west edges of the metro, which means a denser, more urban residential feel compared to newer subdivisions.
Since the school is no longer operating, families should direct their questions to El Paso ISD about reassignment, busing, and the programs available at the consolidated campus their child will now attend.
See more original research from School Decision →