The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Dr Malakoff El
Dr. Malakoff Elementary sits on Havana Drive in Laredo's north side, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of United ISD. The school is a mid-sized elementary for its grade band, drawing an enrollment that is almost entirely Hispanic, reflecting the character of Laredo itself, a predominantly Hispanic border city where daily life is shaped by its position as the country's leading inland port with Mexico. The school's student body includes a substantial share of children who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is typical for Laredo-area schools.
On Texas STAAR assessments, the most complete picture comes from grade five, where the school reported results in math, reading and language arts, and science. In reading and language arts, fifth graders performed solidly, with roughly seven in ten students reaching the proficient threshold. Math results at the same grade were close to that level. Science in fifth grade tells a different story: fewer than four in ten students reached proficiency, which is the school's most pronounced soft spot in the available data. A parent may want to ask the school directly about science instruction and supports, since that gap is real enough to warrant a conversation. For grades three and four, proficiency figures were withheld, likely because the tested groups were very small and Texas suppresses results in those cases; that absence does not indicate low performance, it reflects how the state handles small counts.
Stepping back to an all-subjects summary across the school, the picture is more encouraging than the fifth-grade science result alone suggests. The share of students reaching at least the "approaches grade level" standard, Texas's basic threshold, is well above most other schools in the Webb County district comparison set. On the "meets grade level" standard, which represents more solid command of the material, the school lands above the midpoint of that same set. At the "masters" level, which Texas considers advanced, the numbers are lower, as is common across elementary schools generally, but the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Webb County. That is a meaningful position, and it is worth naming plainly.
Trend data is limited to a single year, so it is not possible to describe whether results have been improving, declining, or holding steady. Chronic absenteeism data and English learner counts were not available in the data provided.
United ISD has been active on several fronts that touch Dr. Malakoff directly. The district publicly reported launching an expanded early childhood program that reaches children as young as two, which makes the school's pre-kindergarten offering part of a broader pipeline. The district also introduced a reading comprehension initiative across campuses, framing grade-level reading as a core instructional priority. For a school where ELA proficiency in the upper elementary grades is one of the stronger results, that district-level push reinforces what appears to be a relative strength. The district also reduced its maintenance and operations property tax rate, a practical detail for families weighing homeownership in the attendance zone.
Housing near the school is priced modestly below the Texas state benchmark, with values that have edged upward over the past year. Rents have been nearly flat in the same period. The area is largely car-dependent, as most of Laredo outside the downtown core is, and the neighborhood around Havana Drive is a residential subdivision typical of the city's northward expansion. Laredo continues to grow outward, with new home developments pushing into the north and east, so the community around the school is still filling in.
Program details specific to Dr. Malakoff, such as extracurricular offerings, bilingual program structure, or staffing ratios, were not included in the data provided, and a visit or call to the campus would be the right way to fill those gaps.
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