The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in English language arts. The lowest is 35% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Dr Pablo Perez
Dr. Pablo Perez is a public elementary school in McAllen serving prekindergarten through fifth grade. The school is located in North McAllen and serves a student body that is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with nearly all students coming from Hispanic backgrounds. About half the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a substantial share of families with lower household incomes. The school sits in a growing, car-oriented South Texas city with mixed-use development underway and a comparatively affordable housing market for Texas.
Academically, the school shows uneven performance across subjects and grades. In English Language Arts, results are stronger. Fourth and fifth graders show solid proficiency, with a majority of fourth graders and a clear majority of fifth graders meeting proficiency standards. Third-grade ELA data is limited due to a very small Spanish-language testing cohort, so those results do not apply widely. In math, performance is more mixed. Third graders show reasonable proficiency, and fifth graders are at a modest majority. Fourth-grade math proficiency is lower, at just above half. Science proficiency in fifth grade is notably weak, with only about a third of students meeting proficiency standards. Social studies scores at the fourth and fifth grade levels are below grade-level math and ELA, with fewer than half meeting standards across those grades. Overall, reading and writing instruction appears to be performing better than quantitative and science-focused subjects.
The school reports strong rates on broader Texas assessment performance measures. Students across the school approach proficiency at high rates in ELA, and most students at least approach proficiency in math across grades. The "approaches" benchmark, however, is a lower bar than full proficiency. When looking at the "meets" and "masters" tiers, the picture is more restrained. About three-tenths of all students across the school are reaching the mastery level in math and across all subjects combined, and similar proportions reach the meets standard. This suggests that while most students are getting close to grade-level work, fewer are exceeding it.
Among Hidalgo County's districts, Dr. Pablo Perez's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile countywide, a strength. The school sits above the county median on the range of all measured districts. That said, a parent may want to look deeper into the softer science and social studies results to understand whether those areas are receiving sufficient instructional attention or resources.
The school operates within McAllen ISD, which has made two consecutive annual cuts to its property tax rate, most recently bringing the rate down by a substantial margin while making additional reductions beyond state mandates. The district also implemented districtwide Emotional Intelligence as a required curriculum component at every campus from Pre-K up, including mandatory EQ courses for students as they progress. In May 2026, voters approved a major bond for campus modernization and Career and Technical Education expansion across the high schools, along with safety upgrades and infrastructure work; the district stated the bond would not raise the tax rate. These moves indicate a district focused on both fiscal restraint and instructional breadth.
Dr. Pablo Perez enrolls a small-to-mid-sized student population for a K-5 building, spread across seven grade levels from Pre-K through fifth grade. The school has a majority of its students in the upper elementary grades, with larger cohorts in grades 4 and 5. The enrollment is stable and consistent with the grade-band distribution typical of district elementary schools. No data on special education or English learner rates was available, so a parent may want to inquire with the school about the availability and scope of those support services.
The wider McAllen community is a mid-sized Rio Grande Valley border city with a young population and a retail and healthcare-anchored economy. The city has seen steady recent growth and is undergoing significant mixed-use development, including major projects like a planned recreation district at the former Boeye Reservoir and The District, a large commercial and residential development in North McAllen where this school sits. Housing is comparatively affordable for Texas, with rental and ownership costs below state and national benchmarks. The public library recently relocated to a new massive facility, and parks, trails and transit infrastructure connect neighborhoods. This is a community in active growth and transition.
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