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2 Houston high schools lead the report card among best in U.S. for 2022

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Two Houston high schools are at the head of their class when it comes to the best public high schools in the U.S.

New rankings from U.S. News & World Report put Houston ISD’s Carnegie Vanguard High School at No. 40 nationally (up from No. 42 last year) and DeBakey High School for Health Professions No. 43 nationally among the best STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) high schools and No. 18 nationally among the best magnet high schools.

Topping the national list is Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Arlington, Virginia.

Here in Texas, Dallas ISD’s School for the Talented and Gifted came in at No. 8 nationally (up from No. 13 last year) among the country’s best high schools and at No. 1 in Texas. It also ranks No. 8 nationally among the best STEM high schools and No. 4 among the best magnet high schools.

These are the rest of Texas’ top 10 among the country’s best public high schools:

No. 34 (up from No. 41 last year), Austin ISD’s Liberal Arts and Science Academy. No. 70 nationally among the best STEM high schools.
No. 40 (up from No. 42 last year), Houston ISD’s Carnegie Vanguard High School.
No. 48 (up from No. 59 last year), Dallas ISD’s Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet. No. 17 nationally among the best magnet high schools.
No. 50 (down from No. 46 last year), Houston ISD’s DeBakey High School for Health Professions. No. 43 nationally among the best STEM high schools and No. 18 nationally among the best magnet high schools.
No. 77 (up from No. 102 last year), BASIS San Antonio - Shavano Campus. No. 25 nationally among the best STEM high schools and No. 17 nationally among the best charter high schools.
No. 78 (up from No. 108 last year), San Antonio ISD’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy. No. 18 nationally among the best charter high schools.
No. 102 (down from No. 96 last year), Northside ISD’s Health Careers High School (San Antonio). No. 26 nationally among the best magnet high schools.

Each year, U.S. News evaluates high schools on six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates. In all, more than 17,800 schools were graded.

The rankings “take a comprehensive approach to evaluating schools,” says Eric Brooks, principal data analyst at U.S. News. “Looking at factors like graduation rates and underserved student performance, families can use this information to learn more about their local schools.”

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