Palmer-laakso El, San Benito TX - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Palmer-laakso El

Palmer-Laakso Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in San Benito, a small Rio Grande Valley city with a strongly Mexican-influenced character and a family-oriented residential texture. The school enrolls students across the lower elementary grades in a building-based setting within the Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District.

The school's recent state assessment results show a mixed academic picture across grades and subjects. In English language arts, performance strengthens as students progress: third graders showed proficiency near the midpoint, while fifth graders reached proficiency at a substantially higher level. Mathematics performance follows a similar arc, starting lower in third grade and climbing notably by fifth grade. Science proficiency in fifth grade sits at a moderate level. Across all tested subjects and grade levels, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other schools in Cameron County, suggesting it performs above many of its district neighbors despite uneven results within individual grades.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the broader San Benito area. The school operates in a region where housing remains relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks, though home values have seen modest recent growth. Commercial activity centers on the Route 77 corridor, and the city's civic and cultural life clusters in a recognizable downtown with historic buildings, murals, and the Resaca de los Fresnos waterway trail.

Los Fresnos CISD has undertaken significant facility expansion in recent years. A major bond approved in 2021 funded a new middle school that opened in 2023, a Career and Technical Education Center offering industry-linked certifications in health sciences, welding, engineering, and culinary arts, and a dedicated Performing Arts Center with substantial seating that held its grand opening in fall 2025. These additions represent long-term program growth for families considering the district's trajectory. The district has also cut its property tax rate across multiple consecutive years, which directly lowers the tax burden on homeowners.

Palmer-Laakso offers clubs and activities including chess, robotics, music, running, and a kindness club. The school's early-grade focus means it does not have state assessment data for younger pre-K and kindergarten students, nor graduation outcomes, as those apply only to secondary grades. A parent may want to look into the school's approach to early literacy and numeracy instruction in the younger grades, and how the school supports the transition to the higher-performing fifth-grade cohort visible in the recent test data.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 54% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 55% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 57% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 62% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 58% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 576%

School 76% · District 67% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Science

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 46% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

This schoolLOS FRESNOS CISD, 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-income47%Higher-income100%53 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income64%Higher-income86%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income77%Higher-income70%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income88%50 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income58%Higher-income67%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income68%Higher-income63%5 pp gap