The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Smith El
Smith El was a public elementary school in Victoria, Texas, part of Victoria ISD, and it is now closed. The record shows testing data from what appears to be its final year of operation, and the school's NCES status is listed as closed. A neighbor comparison set was not available, and enrollment and demographic data are missing from the record, so those dimensions cannot be characterized here.
Victoria is the county seat of Victoria County and the central city of a regional metropolitan area in south central Texas. The city sits at the convergence of three major U.S. highways, which gives it a transportation and export role that reaches toward Houston, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Austin, all within roughly a two-hour drive. Manufacturing anchors the local economy, with large industrial employers in metals, petrochemicals, and plastics operating nearby. Health care, retail, and higher education round out the job base, with the University of Houston-Victoria and Victoria College both present. The housing market here sits well below the state median and considerably below the national median, and has seen a modest decline year over year. Rents have also softened slightly. For a buyer, the estimated monthly carrying cost of a home at current prices and mortgage rates is meaningfully lower than in most Texas metros, and the rent-to-income burden is relatively light by national standards.
Smith El served grades that fall within Texas's STAAR testing window, so state assessment results are available for its final year. The picture those results show is one of low proficiency. In fourth-grade reading, fewer than half of tested students scored at the proficient-or-above threshold, and fifth-grade reading scores, assessed in Spanish for a small group, were lower still. Math results followed a similar pattern, with fourth grade posting a modest rate and fifth grade falling below that. Science was tested in fifth grade through the Spanish-language STAAR, but the tested group was too small to yield a reportable proficiency figure. It is worth noting that the state changed its cut scores for proficiency in the year these results were recorded, which means comparisons to prior years are not straightforward. A parent reviewing these numbers should factor in that context when reading them.
Because the school is closed, none of this directly guides a current enrollment decision. What it does speak to is the broader Victoria ISD setting a family would be entering. The district is in an active period of change. Voters recently approved a bond package, by a narrow margin, that directs funds toward aging infrastructure across many campuses, including roof, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical repairs. The bond carries a meaningful tax rate increase that homeowners in the district will absorb over many years, and families considering a home purchase in the area would want to factor that into their calculations.
The bond also triggers a significant reorganization of elementary attendance boundaries. Several campuses are being consolidated, others demolished, and student assignments are being redrawn by attendance zone. Families weighing a move to Victoria should check directly with the district about which elementary school a given address feeds into, because that answer may be different from what it was even recently.
On the curriculum side, Victoria ISD publicly reported launching a two-way dual language program in English and Spanish, housed at Crain Elementary as a choice pathway beginning with kindergartners in the 2024-25 school year. Applications have continued into 2026. For families seeking bilingual programming, this is an opt-in option worth investigating directly with the district.
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