Out of the 30 Houston-area school districts to make the Texas list in Niche's 2022 Best Schools and Districts rankings, 11 made the national list.
Katy Independent School District is the top-ranked school district in the Houston area and No. 13 in Texas. Friendswood ISD was the No. 2 in Houston and No. 15 in Texas, followed by Tomball ISD at No. 3 in Houston and No. 26 in Texas. Those were the only three local districts to receive an A-plus grade from Niche.
Pearland, Clear Creek, Conroe, Cypress-Fairbanks, Humble, Fort Bend and Montgomery around out the rest of the top 10 in Houston, each with an overall grade of A. Harmony Public Schools – West ranked No. 11 and was the only other local district to receive an A.
Eanes Independent School District in the Austin area was ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 11 nationwide.
Pittsburgh-based Niche is a data provider that analyzes public data to produce rankings, report cards and profiles for every K-12 school, college and neighborhood in the U.S. Niche’s 2022 Best School Districts ranking is based on analysis of academic and student life data from the U.S. Department of Education along with test scores, data related to college preparation and acceptance and ratings collected from millions of Niche users.
For this year's list, Niche de-emphasized the importance of ACT and SAT scores due to Covid-19's impact on in-person testing as well as socioeconomic and racial disparities. Because some colleges and universities still require standardized test scores for admissions, Niche reduced the test score factors by one-third instead of eliminating the category altogether.
“Our 2022 rankings come at a time when so many parents are curious about the different options for their children’s education, including some they may never have considered before,” said Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche. “No matter where they are in their search process, we strive to be a reliable guide and resource. It is truly an honor to know our users trust us to play a key role in such a big life decision.”
Here is where Houston-area school districts landed on the lists. To view the rest of the list, click here.
Katy ISD (No. 275 national, No. 13 in Texas, No. 1 in Houston) – A-plus
Friendswood ISD (No. 298 national, No. 15 in Texas, No. 2 in Houston) – A-plus
Tomball ISD (No. 405 national, No. 26 in Texas, No. 3 in Houston) ) – A-plus
Pearland ISD (No. 477 national, No. 33 in Texas No. 4 in Houston) – A
Clear Creek ISD (No. 637 national, No. 44 in Texas, No. 5 in Houston) – A
Conroe ISD (No. 718 national, No. 52 in Texas, No. 6 in Houston) – A
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (No. 800 national, No. 59 in Texas, No. 7 in Houston) – A
Humble ISD ((No. 848 national, No. 62 in Texas, No. 8 in Houston) – A
Fort Bend ISD (No. 965 national, No. 72 in Texas, No. 9 in Houston) – A
Montgomery ISD (No. 974 national, No. 73 in Texas, No. 10 in Houston) – A
Harmony Public Schools – West (No. 983 national, No. 75 in Texas, No. 11 in Houston) – A
Lamar Consolidated ISD (No. 106 in Texas, No. 12 in Houston) – A-minus
Klein ISD (No. 111 in Texas, No. 13 in Houston) – A-minus
Deer Park ISD (No. 129 in Texas, No. 14 in Houston) – A-minus
Alvin ISD (No. 145 in Texas, No. 15 in Houston) – A-minus
Spring Branch ISD (No. 158 in Texas, No. 16 in Houston) – A-minus
Harmony Public Schools – North (No. 194 in Texas, No. 17 in Houston) – B-plus
La Porte ISD (No. 223 in Texas, No. 18 in Houston) – B-plus
Crosby ISD (No. 224 in Texas, No. 19 in Houston) – B-plus
Magnolia ISD (No. 230 in Texas, No. 20 in Houston) – B-plus
Aristoi Classical Academy (No. 234 in Texas, No. 21 in Houston) – B-plus
Huffman ISD (No. 368 in Texas, No. 22 in Houston) – B
Pasadena ISD (No. 388 in Texas, No. 23 in Houston) – B
Dickinson ISD (No. 391 in Texas, No. 24 in Houston) – B
Goose Creek Consolidated ISD (No. 400 in Texas, No. 25 in Houston) – B
New Caney ISD (No. 406 in Texas, No. 26 in Houston) – B
Harmony Public Schools – Houston South (No. 421 in Texas, No. 27 in Houston) – B
Alief ISD (No. 440 in Texas, No. 28 in Houston) – B
Galena Park ISD (No. 489 in Texas, No. 29 in Houston) – B
Willis ISD (No. 529 in Texas, No. 30 in Houston) – B