Top three high schools in Texas are in Dallas, U.S. News report

TX – The top three public schools in Texas are in Dallas, according to a new ranking of the best high schools by U.S. New & World Report.

Four of the top 10 public high schools in Texas are in Dallas; three are in Houston, according to the report.

The top three schools are the School for the Talented and Gifted (TAG), Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, and the Science and Engineering Magnet School (SEM). All three have 100% graduation rates.

All three schools’ students were 100% proficient in reading, 100% took at least one AP exam and 100% passed at least one AP exam. TAG and Irma Lerma students were 100% proficient in math.

U.S. News ranked nearly 18,000 schools nationwide based on student performance on state-required tests, graduation rates, and how well schools prepared students for college.

TAG ranked first out of 40 high schools in the Dallas Independent School District, and ranked 13th nationally. It ranked first in the Dallas Metro Area High Schools and in Dallas ISD High Schools. It ranked sixth among Magnet High Schools and 10th among STEM High Schools.

TAG’s total minority enrollment is 70% and 35% are economically disadvantaged. The plurality of students are Hispanic (39%), followed by 30% Caucasian, 17% Asian and 10% Black.

Irma Lerma ranked second statewide, second in Dallas Metro Area High Schools and second in Dallas ISD High Schools. It ranked eighth among magnet schools and 15th nationally.

SEM ranked third-best in Texas, and third best out of all Dallas Metro Area High Schools, Dallas ISD High Schools, and STEM High Schools. It ranked 16th-best among Magnet High Schools and 39th-best nationally.

Rounding out the top ten high schools in Texas are the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin (4th), followed by Carnegie Vanguard High School in Houston, DeBakey High School for Health Professions in Houston, Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet in Dallas, IDEA Frontier College Preparatory in Brownsville, Challenge Early College High School in Houston, and Health Careers High School in San Antonio.

The best high school districts are Austin ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Dallas ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Houston ISD, Katy ISD, and Northside ISD, according to the report.

Texas high school students are generally required to pass statewide tests in English, math, science and social studies courses to graduate. They are required to earn at least 22 credits, including one credit of fine arts and four credits of English.

Texas has 1,070 school districts, 1,997 high schools, 109,098 full-time teachers, and 1.6 million enrolled students.