DFW residential real estate » Best Texas schools » Best high schools
Best High Schools In Texas
The 2020 best Texas public high schools lists on this page identify the traditional open enrollment, selective enrollment and charter high schools that currently rank highest in both the learning success of all of their students and preparing their college-bound students for the next step in their educational experience.
About 80 percent of the 1,620 high schools included in the comprehensive public high schools in Texas ranking analysis presented on this Texas high schools page are open enrollment schools operated by local independent school districts. The remaining schools are pretty evenly split between selective enrollment schools, also by operated by local school districts, and charter schools operated by non-profit corporations, higher education institutions and governmental entities, including independent school districts. Clicking on these 2020 top Texas open enrollment high schools, 2020 top Texas selective enrollment high schools and 2020 top Texas charter high schools jump links displays those rankings.
Each of the Texas high schools included in this ranking analysis was evaluated using three metrics: students' performance on the 2019 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) evaluations administered by the Texas Education Commission, participation in and successful completion of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, and percentage of students taking the SAT and ACT college admission tests and their performance on those tests. Texas Education Agency (TEA) accountability ratings were not considered in this analysis since these ratings also take into account factors that generally have no meaningful linkage to the learning success of individual students, such as student demographics and changes in student performance on the STAAR evaluations from one year to the next.
Unlike some other best Texas high school rankings, this analysis examined only the most credible and most current student performance data available and no consideration was given to student demographics, changes in student performance over time on the STAAR tests, and other such factors or to subjective factors such as anonymous self-selected reviews and statistically invalid online opinion surveys.
Additional information about how the performance of these high schools was evaluated and ranked in this analysis, how overall academic performance was graded, and the 2020 rankings for all 1,620 high schools included in this study are available by clicking on this complete Texas public high schools rankings link.
Open enrollment high schools
Open enrollment high schools are single campus and multiple campus traditional public high schools operated by independent school districts at which the only requirement for admittance is residency in the district and school attendance area.
2020 Texas top open enrollment high schools
% students met criteria | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
rank | campus(es) | district | students | academic performance index | accountability rating | STAAR scaled score | AP / IB | SAT | ACT | attended by students living in |
1 | Highland Park High School | Highland Park ISD | 2,148 | 78.0 | A | 96 | 72.1% | 59.7% | 78.2% | Dallas, Highland Park, University Park |
2 | Westlake High School | Eanes ISD | 2,767 | 77.0 | A | 96 | 66.8% | 75.4% | 59.9% | Austin, West Lake Hills |
3 | Carroll Senior High School / Carroll High School | Carroll ISD | 2,712 | 76.2 | 96 | 56.8% | 68.2% | 71.4% | Colleyville, Grapevine, Southlake, Westlake | |
4 | Lovejoy High School | Lovejoy ISD | 1,524 | 74.6 | A | 96 | 62.6% | 65.3% | 55.8% | Fairview, Lucas, Allen, McKinney, Wylie |
5 | Seven Lakes High School | Katy ISD | 3,617 | 72.8 | A | 96 | 56.2% | 77.3% | 41.9% | Katy |
6 | Westwood High School | Round Rock ISD | 2,756 | 72.5 | A | 94 | 70.1% | 87.0% | 46.4% | Austin |
7 | Clements High School | Fort Bend ISD | 2,545 | 71.3 | A | 95 | 58.6% | 83.5% | 39.4% | Sugar Land |
8 | Reedy High School | Frisco ISD | 1,882 | 70.9 | A | 96 | 54.4% | 60.9% | 46.0% | Frisco |
9 | Tompkins High School | Katy ISD | 3,750 | 70.9 | A | 95 | 57.3% | 72.9% | 34.6% | Fulshear, Katy |
10 | Wakeland High School | Frisco ISD | 2,063 | 70.1 | A | 95 | 49.4% | 65.2% | 46.3% | Frisco |
11 | Coppell High School | Coppell ISD | 3,598 | 69.6 | A | 94 | 58.1% | 66.5% | 68.3% | Coppell, Irving |
12 | Liberty High School | Frisco ISD | 1,967 | 69.4 | A | 95 | 53.1% | 66.8% | 45.1% | Frisco |
13 | Vandergrift High School | Leander ISD | 2,708 | 69.0 | A | 93 | 66.9% | 77.0% | 51.8% | Austin, Cedar Park, Leander, Volente |
14 | The Woodlands High School | Conroe ISD | 4,342 | 67.5 | A | 94 | 49.1% | 72.8% | 45.4% | Conroe, Spring, The Woodlands |
15 | Centennial High School | Frisco ISD | 1,983 | 66.8 | A | 95 | 47.4% | 60.3% | 39.9% | Frisco |
16 | Plano West Senior High School / Jasper High School / Shepton High School | Plano ISD | 5,611 | 65.8 | 93 | 55.8% | 70.2% | 45.6% | Dallas, Plano | |
17 | Cinco Ranch High School | Katy ISD | 3,171 | 65.1 | A | 94 | 46.8% | 69.3% | 34.7% | Katy |
18 | Independence High School | Frisco ISD | 2,070 | 65.1 | A | 94 | 51.4% | 58.8% | 37.1% | Frisco |
19 | Reagan High School | North East ISD | 3,480 | 64.6 | A | 94 | 50.7% | 72.8% | 21.3% | San Antonio |
20 | Memorial High School | Spring Branch ISD | 2,616 | 63.8 | A | 92 | 56.8% | 82.1% | 47.5% | Bunker Hill, Hedwig Village, Hunters Creek, Hunters Creek Village, Piney Point, Spring Valley |
21 | Flower Mound High School | Lewisville ISD | 3,615 | 63.3 | A | 93 | 42.1% | 74.5% | 42.8% | Flower Mound, Lewisville |
22 | Bowie High School | Austin ISD | 2,914 | 62.7 | A | 94 | 42.7% | 64.4% | 18.2% | Austin |
23 | Keller High School | Keller ISD | 3,075 | 62.4 | A | 94 | 38.0% | 58.8% | 48.8% | Colleyville, Fort Worth, Hurst, Keller, North Richland Hills, Southlake, Westlake |
24 | Lake Travis High School | Lake Travis ISD | 3,212 | 62.4 | A | 93 | 47.7% | 64.1% | 48.1% | Austin, Dripping Springs, Spicewood |
25 | Johnson High School | North East ISD | 3,149 | 62.2 | A | 94 | 44.2% | 64.8% | 22.2% | San Antonio |
26 | Taylor High School | Katy ISD | 2,884 | 61.6 | A | 94 | 41.3% | 67.4% | 27.7% | Houston, Katy |
27 | Cypress Woods High School | Cypress Fairbanks ISD | 3,428 | 61.4 | A | 94 | 41.3% | 50.9% | 41.4% | Cypress |
28 | Champion High School | Boerne ISD | 1,738 | 61.2 | A | 93 | 45.6% | 61.4% | 38.4% | Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, San Antonio |
29 | Heritage High School | Frisco ISD | 1,992 | 61.0 | A | 94 | 40.3% | 51.9% | 34.0% | Frisco |
30 | Cypress Ranch High School | Cypress Fairbanks ISD | 3,054 | 60.5 | A | 94 | 36.0% | 55.6% | 41.9% | Cypress |
31 | Cedar Park High School | Leander ISD | 2,081 | 60.5 | A | 92 | 52.1% | 67.7% | 47.4% | Cedar Park |
32 | Round Rock High School | Round Rock ISD | 3,501 | 60.3 | A | 93 | 46.8% | 76.1% | 28.0% | Austin, Cedar Park, Round Rock |
33 | Allen High School / Lowery Freshman Center | Allen ISD | 6,826 | 60.1 | 93 | 45.0% | 57.5% | 32.1% | Allen, Lucas, McKinney, Parker | |
34 | Friendswood High School | Friendswood ISD | 2,095 | 59.9 | A | 93 | 38.1% | 63.9% | 32.0% | Friendswood |
35 | Dawson High School | Pearland ISD | 2,576 | 59.7 | A | 93 | 51.6% | 62.3% | 25.8% | Brookside, Manvel, Pearland |
36 | Tomball Memorial High School | Tomball ISD | 2,310 | 59.6 | A | 94 | 39.9% | 54.6% | 21.7% | Cypress, Tomball |
37 | Nelson High School | Northwest ISD | 2,499 | 59.2 | A | 93 | 44.8% | 66.5% | 28.8% | Fort Worth, Northlake, Roanoke, Southlake, Trophy Club |
38 | College Park High School | Conroe ISD | 3,122 | 59.1 | A | 93 | 42.6% | 62.1% | 36.5% | Conroe, Spring, The Woodlands |
39 | Port Aransas High School | Port Aransas ISD | 187 | 59.0 | A | 94 | 34.4% | 61.0% | 26.6% | Port Aransas |
40 | Anderson High School | Austin ISD | 2,224 | 58.8 | A | 92 | 50.4% | 67.6% | 31.4% | Austin |
41 | Marcus High School | Lewisville ISD | 3,195 | 58.5 | A | 93 | 36.9% | 58.2% | 40.9% | Copper Canyon, Double Oak, Flower Mound, Highland Village, Lewisville |
42 | Kingwood High School | Humble ISD | 2,742 | 58.3 | A | 93 | 40.7% | 55.0% | 40.0% | Houston, Humble, Kingwood, Porter |
43 | Austin High School | Fort Bend ISD | 2,194 | 58.3 | A | 93 | 43.0% | 66.9% | 22.7% | Elm Grove, Richmond, Sugar Land |
44 | Vista Ridge High School | Leander ISD | 2,383 | 58.1 | A | 92 | 48.7% | 56.9% | 36.8% | Austin, Leander, Round Rock |
45 | McKinney Boyd High School | McKinney ISD | 2,831 | 57.2 | A | 92 | 45.2% | 58.9% | 35.0% | McKinney |
46 | Colleyville Heritage High School | Grapevine-Colleyville ISD | 1,973 | 57.1 | A | 91 | 55.5% | 65.2% | 40.1% | Colleyville, Euless, Grapevine |
47 | Dripping Springs High School | Dripping Springs ISD | 1,950 | 56.9 | A | 93 | 32.2% | 58.4% | 42.0% | Austin, Driftwood, Dripping Springs |
48 | Prosper High School | Prosper ISD | 3,448 | 56.7 | A | 93 | 33.9% | 45.2% | 37.9% | Prosper, Celina, Frisco, McKinney |
49 | Frisco High School | Frisco ISD | 1,564 | 56.6 | A | 92 | 41.7% | 51.7% | 34.4% | Frisco |
50 | George Ranch High School | Lamar CISD | 2,671 | 56.2 | A | 93 | 32.1% | 60.7% | 18.4% | Rosenberg, Richmond, Sugar Land, Thompson |
Selective enrollment high schools
In addition to their traditional open enrollment schools, a number of Texas school districts also operate selective enrollment schools. Selective enrollment schools provide career-oriented or specialized curriculum in addition to academic subjects, and admittance typically is based on students' previous academic performance and interests demonstrated in student interviews, auditions, essays, and other similar faculty assessments. As would be expected, since admission to selective enrollment schools generally is highly selective and limited, the average standardized test results of the selective enrollment schools generally are much higher than results attained by the open enrollment schools that their students otherwise would attend.These factors, probably to a large extent, enabled the two Dallas Independent School District schools that rank highest among Texas selective enrollment high schools to frequently be recognized in national surveys as two of the best high schools in the U.S. In any event, they also top this 2018 Texas best public high schools ranking.
2020 Texas top selective enrollment high schools
> | % students met criteria | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
rank | campus(es) | district | students | academic performance index | accountability rating | STAAR scaled score | AP / IB | SAT | ACT |
1 | School for the Talented and Gifted | Dallas ISD | 359 | 100.0 | A | 99 | 98.5% | 98.5% | 100.0% |
2 | School of Science and Engineering | Dallas ISD | 497 | 95.4 | A | 98 | 99.0% | 98.6% | 95.6% |
3 | Carnegie Vanguard High School | Houston ISD | 808 | 94.4 | A | 98 | 97.9% | 100.0% | 83.8% |
4 | Liberal Arts and Science Academy | Austin ISD | 1,238 | 94.4 | A | 99 | 98.8% | 91.8% | 58.2% |
5 | Rangel Young Women's Leadership School | Dallas ISD | 549 | 91.6 | A | 98 | 90.8% | 93.9% | 83.1% |
6 | DeBakey High School for Health Professions | Houston ISD | 891 | 90.8 | A | 98 | 97.8% | 100.0% | 55.0% |
7 | Health Careers High School | Northside ISD | 862 | 85.1 | A | 98 | 78.9% | 94.8% | 39.5% |
8 | Kinder High School For Performing And Visual Arts | Houston ISD | 752 | 77.2 | A | 96 | 65.1% | 91.6% | 25.7% |
9 | Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts | Dallas ISD | 999 | 73.7 | A | 95 | 70.0% | 74.9% | 56.3% |
10 | Challenge Early College High School | Houston ISD | 463 | 73.6 | A | 95 | 76.9% | 81.2% | 9.4% |
11 | Lassiter Early College High School | Dallas ISD | 245 | 73.5 | A | 96 | 50.9% | 82.7% | 50.9% |
12 | Garcia Early College High School | Laredo ISD | 420 | 72.8 | A | 95 | 92.0% | 55.5% | 22.0% |
13 | Sanders Law Magnet | Dallas ISD | 409 | 71.7 | A | 96 | 53.3% | 72.3% | 26.7% |
14 | Eastwood Academy | Houston ISD | 432 | 71.7 | A | 95 | 78.1% | 83.4% | 4.8% |
15 | Clear Horizons Early College High School | Clear Creek ISD | 443 | 71.7 | A | 95 | 60.4% | 91.7% | 34.4% |
16 | Kerr High School | Alief ISD | 796 | 71.5 | A | 95 | 61.0% | 88.2% | 13.3% |
17 | The Science Academy of South Texas | South Texas ISD | 774 | 71.3 | A | 94 | 74.0% | 81.2% | 37.7% |
18 | School of Health Professions | Dallas ISD | 549 | 71.0 | A | 97 | 38.8% | 76.1% | 31.7% |
19 | Richards School for Young Women Leaders | Austin ISD | 856 | 70.9 | A | 93 | 76.3% | 84.4% | 57.0% |
20 | Sharyland Advanced Academic Academy | Sharyland ISD | 385 | 69.1 | A | 94 | 64.5% | 73.1% | 41.4% |
21 | School of Business and Magement | Dallas ISD | 505 | 68.5 | A | 96 | 43.3% | 75.8% | 23.5% |
22 | Garza Early College High School | Dallas ISD | 438 | 67.5 | A | 96 | 31.7% | 73.3% | 21.3% |
23 | Achieve Early College High School | McAllen ISD | 483 | 66.6 | A | 95 | 67.9% | 47.5% | 17.9% |
24 | International School of America | North East ISD | 494 | 66.5 | A | 94 | 56.3% | 71.5% | 37.1% |
25 | Sorrells School of Education and Social Services | Dallas ISD | 306 | 66.2 | A | 94 | 54.8% | 71.5% | 20.2% |
26 | Mansfield Frontier High School | Mansfield ISD | 128 | 66.1 | A | 97 | 31.7% | 49.5% | 23.1% |
27 | East Early College High School | Houston ISD | 476 | 66.0 | A | 95 | 51.4% | 83.8% | 9.5% |
28 | Silva Heath Magnet | El Paso ISD | 749 | 66.0 | A | 95 | 37.4% | 81.3% | 12.2% |
29 | Young Women's Leadership Academy | Fort Worth ISD | 416 | 65.4 | A | 92 | 86.1% | 75.0% | 22.2% |
30 | North Houston Early College High School | Houston ISD | 484 | 65.3 | A | 94 | 62.4% | 74.8% | 4.6% |
31 | Victory Early College High School | Aldine ISD | 399 | 64.0 | A | 93 | 65.6% | 72.1% | 25.3% |
32 | Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy | Grand Prairie ISD | 830 | 63.6 | A | 94 | 52.2% | 70.1% | 16.9% |
33 | Texas Academy of Biomedical Sciences | Fort Worth ISD | 397 | 63.5 | A | 93 | 48.9% | 89.7% | 21.2% |
34 | Alief Early College High School | Alief ISD | 401 | 63.3 | A | 95 | 32.4% | 74.0% | 13.2% |
35 | New Tech High School at Coppell | Coppell ISD | 319 | 62.4 | A | 93 | 47.6% | 55.6% | 60.3% |
36 | Talkington School for Young Women Leaders | Lubbock ISD | 465 | 62.3 | A | 93 | 52.5% | 71.3% | 22.5% |
37 | Valle Verde Early College High School | Ysleta ISD | 403 | 61.7 | A | 94 | 42.0% | 72.7% | 17.1% |
38 | Brownsville Early College High School | Brownsville ISD | 394 | 61.6 | A | 93 | 45.5% | 77.3% | 19.3% |
39 | Arlington Collegiate High School | Arlington ISD | 407 | 61.5 | A | 95 | 35.1% | 70.6% | 3.1% |
40 | High School for Health Professions | South Texas ISD | 791 | 61.5 | A | 93 | 58.4% | 62.7% | 32.3% |
41 | Mission Collegiate High School | Mission CISD | 406 | 61.4 | A | 93 | 63.4% | 46.6% | 18.3% |
42 | Spring Early College High School | Spring ISD | 420 | 61.3 | A | 93 | 55.6% | 72.8% | 25.6% |
43 | Steele Accelerated High School | Northwest ISD | 186 | 60.4 | A | 94 | 27.3% | 65.9% | 27.3% |
44 | Obama Male Leadership Academy | Dallas ISD | 461 | 60.3 | B | 93 | 42.0% | 79.0% | 35.0% |
45 | Judson Early College Academy | Judson ISD | 481 | 60.2 | A | 95 | 6.0% | 90.0% | 10.0% |
46 | Transmountain Early College High School | El Paso ISD | 416 | 59.6 | A | 94 | 31.7% | 68.3% | 4.8% |
47 | Harlingen School of Health Professions | Harlingen CISD | 421 | 59.4 | A | 94 | 36.5% | 65.6% | 14.9% |
48 | Houston Academy for International Studies | Houston ISD | 495 | 59.2 | A | 94 | 31.3% | 74.1% | 7.6% |
49 | Business, Education and Technology Academy | South Texas ISD | 598 | 58.5 | A | 91 | 71.7% | 57.6% | 25.2% |
50 | Early College Academy | Clint ISD | 297 | 58.4 | A | 93 | 51.1% | 57.4% | 1.1% |
Charter high schools
Generally speaking, any student can apply for admission to a Texas charter school, though the charter district's charter can specify certain restrictions. A typical example of this would be that a student must reside in a specific town or city in order to apply for admission. In most cases, the school's admissions policy also will describe its lottery process. A charter school must use a lottery process when the number of applications to the school exceeds the number of available spaces.
2020 Texas top charter high schools
% students met criteria | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
rank | campus(es) | district | students | academic performance index | accountability rating | STAAR scaled score | AP / IB | SAT | ACT |
1 | BASIS San Antonio Shavano Campus | BASIS Texas | 1,058 | 86.6 | A | 96 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 42.4% |
2 | Uplift North Hills Preparatory High School | Uplift Education | 531 | 85.4 | A | 95 | 90.8% | 81.7% | 85.2% |
3 | Westlake Academy | Westlake Academy Charter School | 879 | 83.1 | A | 94 | 96.9% | 73.1% | 78.5% |
4 | Imagine International Academy of North Texas | Imagine International Academy of North Texas | 1,406 | 79.2 | A | 93 | 100.0% | 86.0% | 53.1% |
5 | Young Women's Leadership Academy | San Antonio ISD | 495 | 78.7 | A | 96 | 71.4% | 91.7% | 31.0% |
6 | Meridian School | Meridian World School | 1,648 | 71.7 | A | 91 | 86.4% | 77.1% | 58.5% |
7 | IDEA Frontier College Preparatory | IDEA Public Schools | 787 | 69.9 | A | 91 | 92.3% | 65.4% | 45.6% |
8 | Grand Prairie Collegiate Institute | Grand Prairie ISD | 310 | 66.4 | A | 94 | 40.0% | 90.0% | 10.0% |
9 | Harmony School of Innovation - Katy | Harmony School of Science | 589 | 66.3 | A | 93 | 59.5% | 75.7% | 8.1% |
10 | Travis Early College High School | San Antonio ISD | 381 | 65.8 | A | 95 | 36.5% | 78.7% | 12.5% |
11 | Harmony School of Innovation - Sugar Land | Harmony School of Science | 689 | 64.1 | A | 93 | 45.5% | 77.7% | 19.0% |
12 | Chaparral Star Academy | Chaparral Star Academy | 385 | 64.0 | A | 93 | 50.0% | 69.7% | 19.7% |
13 | Richland Collegiate High School | Richland Collegiate High School | 592 | 63.9 | A | 95 | 23.9% | 74.9% | 23.9% |
14 | TCPA Founders Classical Academy | Texas College Preparatory Academies | 921 | 63.6 | A | 91 | 51.8% | 74.1% | 50.0% |
15 | IDEA Toros College Preparatory | IDEA Public Schools | 141 | 62.0 | A | 92 | 77.3% | 2.3% | 31.8% |
16 | Uplift Summit International High School | Uplift Education | 484 | 62.0 | B | 85 | 79.7% | 65.6% | 41.2% |
17 | Harmony School of Innovation - Fort Worth | Harmony Science Academy | 893 | 61.1 | A | 90 | 57.1% | 87.8% | 21.4% |
18 | YES Prep - Southeast | YES Prep Public Schools | 999 | 61.0 | A | 89 | 72.9% | 67.4% | 23.7% |
19 | Gateway College Preparatory School | Orenda Charter School | 1,300 | 60.9 | A | 92 | 42.9% | 68.8% | 25.0% |
20 | NYOS Charter School | NYOS Charter School | 655 | 60.2 | A | 90 | 61.1% | 62.1% | 33.3% |
21 | Harmony Science Academy - El Paso | Harmony Science Academy | 863 | 59.6 | A | 91 | 66.1% | 62.5% | 10.7% |
22 | IDEA College Preparatory | IDEA Public Schools | 755 | 59.6 | A | 83 | 91.0% | 21.7% | 46.3% |
23 | Harmony Science Academy - Carrollton | Harmony Science Academy | 499 | 59.6 | A | 91 | 50.0% | 84.8% | 1.4% |
24 | IDEA Edinburg College Preparatory | IDEA Public Schools | 722 | 59.2 | A | 91 | 71.7% | 4.3% | 33.7% |
25 | Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts High School | Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts | 339 | 58.7 | A | 92 | 32.6% | 65.2% | 32.6% |
Looking for the best real estate agent to assist you in buying a home in the Dallas suburbs?
If you are looking for a professional, business-savvy buyer's agent, please call 214 725-4011 or send me an email and let's talk about how we can assist you. If you will be traveling from outside the DFW area and want us to show you houses while you are here, please call before finalizing your plans.