the future of education

U.S. News ranks Houston middle school No. 2 in Texas for 2026

T. H. Rogers School is the No. 2 best middle school in Texas for 2026.

T. H. Rogers PTO/Facebook

A dozen Houston-area elementary and middle schools have excelled on U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of the best K-8 schools in Texas for 2026, with one that's a top achiever: T. H. Rogers School in Houston ISD ranked as the No. 2 best middle school statewide.

T. H. Rogers School also ranked as the 13th best elementary school in Texas in a 10-spot hike from its 2025 ranking.

The 2026 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings compared over 81,000 public schools on the state and district level using publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading, and their performances on state assessments for both subjects. Tiebreakers were decided based on which school had higher overall proficiencies, and a second tiebreaker was determined for whichever school had a lower student-teacher ratio.

The No. 1 best middle school in Texas is Dallas ISD's William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted. The school also ranked as the 4th best elementary school statewide.

The best Texas elementary schools for 2026
Two Houston-area schools made it among the top 10 best Texas elementary schools for 2026. Creekside Forest Elementary in The Woodlands' Tomball ISD maintained its position as the 7th best statewide for the second year in a row. Sugar Land's Commonwealth Elementary in Fort Bend ISD ranked just one spot lower than it did in 2025 and now appears as the 9th best elementary school in Texas.

One Houston suburban school made a major leap into the statewide top 25 for 2026: Stafford STEM Magnet Academy in Stafford Municipal School District moved up 49 spots from last year to land as the 16th best Texas elementary school.

"At Stafford Stem Magnet Academy, 95 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 87 percent scored at or above that level for reading," the school's profile on U.S. News said.

Elsewhere among the top 25, Bess Campbell Elementary in Sugar Land's Lamar CISD slipped seven spots to rank as the 20th best Texas elementary school. But it did improve its status in the middle school category and ranked as the 12th best middle school statewide, after previously ranking as No. 27 last year.

The best Texas middle schools
T. H. Rogers School was the only Houston school to make it into the top 10 best middle schools in the state for 2026, but eight local schools ranked among the top 25.

The Houston-area middle schools that were ranked among the 25 best in Texas are:

No. 11 – Briarmeadow Charter School, Houston ISD (down from No. 10 last year)
No. 13 – Cornerstone Academy, Spring Branch ISD (up from No. 18 last year)
No. 18 – Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, Houston ISD (up from No. 19 last. year)
No. 19 – Seven Lakes Junior High School, Katy ISD (up from No. 22 last year)
No. 20 – Fort Settlement Middle School, Fort Bend ISD (up from No. 28 last year)
No. 21 – Houston Getaway Academy - Coral Campus, Houston (down from No. 9 last year)
No. 22 – Smith Middle School, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD (down from No. 21 last year)

"The 2026 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings highlight institutions that excel in fostering student achievement and providing exceptional learning environments for all," said U.S. News managing editor for education LaMont Jones, Ed.D. in a press release. "These rankings offer communities and families valuable insights into schools dedicated to preparing students for future success."

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money woes

Texas dips on ranking of America's most financially distressed states

Photo by Image Source/Getty Images

Texas actually improved in this year's ranking.

After spending an unfortunate year as the No. 1 state with the most people in financial distress, Texas has slightly recovered. But the Lone Star State isn't out of the woods yet: it's still among the five most financially distressed states in America for 2026.

According to WalletHub's 2026 report, Texas sits in the No. 4 spot this year, while Kansas, Louisiana, and Florida moved up to become the top three states with the most financially distressed residents.

The personal finance website's experts compared all 50 states based on residents' average credit scores, the share of people with "accounts in distress" (meaning an account that's in forbearance or has deferred payments), the one-year change in bankruptcy filings from March 2025, and search interest indexes for "debt" and "loans."

Despite improving in the overall ranking, the study found Texas has had the fourth-biggest spike in bankruptcy filings nationally from March 2025 to March 2026. Texas residents also have the 10th worst average credit scores in the country, according to the findings.

This is how Texas ranked across the study's six key dimensions, where No. 1 means "most distressed:"

No. 4 – Change in bankruptcy filings from March 2024 to March 2025 rank
No. 5 – Average number of accounts in distress rank
No. 8 – "Loans" search interest index rank
No. 8 – People with accounts in distress rank
No. 12 – Credit score rank
No. 13 – “Debt” search interest index rank

It feels like inflation and affordability have been top-of-mind for many Americans over recent years, and uncertainty around the national economy also adds another level of distress. That's especially true for Houston residents, which were dubbed the second most financially distressed people in America earlier in 2026.

"Americans have faced significant financial challenges in recent years, as inflation, shifting unemployment levels, public health emergencies, and natural disasters have made it more difficult for many households to stay on top of their bills," the report said.

The top three states that have the least financially distressed residents are Maine (No. 50), Rhode Island (No. 49), and Hawaii (No. 48).

The top 10 most financially distressed states in America for 2026 are:

No. 1 – Kansas
No. 2 – Lousiana
No. 3 – Florida
No. 4 – Texas
No. 5 – South Carolina
No. 6 – Wyoming
No. 7 – Georgia
No. 8 – California
No. 9 – North Carolina
No. 10 – Kentucky

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