The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 4% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Mendenhall El
Mendenhall Elementary is a school in transition. Located in Plano, a Dallas-Fort Worth suburb that has shifted from greenfield growth into a redevelopment phase, the school sits in a majority-Hispanic neighborhood and serves a student body that is economically under substantial strain. Plano ISD itself has been shedding enrollment for over a decade and in 2025 closed four campuses to manage budget deficits, though Mendenhall remains open.
The school enrolls just under six hundred students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. A very substantial share qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating concentrated economic need. The enrollment is majority Hispanic; the school also has a significant Black student population alongside smaller Asian and white populations, making it one of Plano ISD's more diverse campuses by composition. The data provided does not specify the percentage of students who are English learners or who receive special education services, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support structures and their adequacy.
State testing results from the most recent school year paint a complicated picture. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school sits in the bottom quartile compared to other Collin County school districts. In English language arts, fifth graders performed substantially better than younger grades, with a solid share meeting proficiency, but third and fourth grade proficiency rates are much lower. Math results follow a similar pattern: very weak performance in third grade, improving in the upper elementary grades but still below what many families might expect. Science proficiency in fifth grade is extremely weak. The school is not meeting proficiency benchmarks in most tested areas, and a parent should understand this as a material weakness, not a fluctuation. That said, the school did introduce or expand Spanish-language testing, which may reflect a real population shift or instructional choice; results in that language are also reported below standard.
Plano itself is a mature suburban corporate center of the Dallas metroplex, with significant headquarters presence and a dense parks-and-trails network. The city has historic walkable downtown and newer mixed-use districts, though most of the city remains car-dependent. Housing costs have moderated slightly from recent highs, and the median home sale price sits modestly above national benchmarks, though not dramatically. Rents run moderate for the region. The local economy is strong, anchored in technology, finance, and corporate services. The town has been growing slowly in recent years after much faster expansion earlier.
Mendenhall's neighborhood context is working-class Plano, where median household incomes are substantially lower than the city-wide average. The prevalence of economic need among the student body is stark and real.
The school offers no specialized programs or magnet pathway that the data reveals. It is a regular elementary campus with standard grades. Parents should inquire about what reading intervention, math support, or English-learner programming the school provides in response to the test results, and whether the school has a plan to move proficiency rates upward. The school does benefit from Plano ISD's recent voter-approved investments in facility improvements, safety upgrades, and instructional technology, so the physical plant and device access may be stronger than test scores alone suggest.
For a family choosing or assigned to Mendenhall, the key facts are: the school's academic results are measurably below standard for its county context, the student body is economically disadvantaged and racially diverse, and the school is part of a district in contraction and transition. Those characteristics define the school's reality and should shape realistic expectations about what support exists and what work may fall to the family to supplement in-school instruction.
See more original research from School Decision →