Top of the Class
4 North Texas high schools graduate to best in U.S.
Just in time for the first day of school, Newsweek has revealed the top 500 high schools in the country — and four Dallas-Fort Worth schools make the cut.
Newsweek and research partner Westat assessed high schools on six factors: graduation rate, college-bound rate, enrollment in college preparedness classes, SAT/ACT scores, student retention, and counselor-to-student ratio. According to the publication, Carroll Senior High School, Plano West, Highland Park High School, and School for the Talented and Gifted are the best in the region.
The magnet school known as TAG leads the pack in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The well-regarded school ranks No. 1 in Texas and No. 26 overall. It boasts an impressive graduation rate of 100 percent and a college-bound rate of 98.2 percent.
Highland Park High School ranks No. 6 in Texas and No. 112 overall, with a 100 percent graduation rate and a 99.8 percent college-bound rate. Plano West, coming in at No. 8 in the state and No. 130 overall, has a nearly 97 percent rate of graduation with 97 percent of the kids college-bound. In Southlake, Carroll Senior High's 100 percent graduation rate and 95 percent college-bound score land it at the No. 10 spot in Texas and No. 145 overall.
Three of the schools — Plano West, TAG and Carroll Senior — also earned a "gold star" from Newsweek for having low-income students score at or above the average on standardized tests.
According to Newsweek, the other two top-rated schools in Texas besides School for the Talented and Gifted are Cedar Hill Collegiate High School at No. 76 (Cedar Hill) and DeBakey High School for Health Professionals at No. 91 (Houston).