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1 / 25#25. Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 769 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Best high schools in the Houston metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Houston metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Clements High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fort Bend Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 2,560 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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3 / 25#23. Kerr High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Alief Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 804 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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4 / 25#22. LIH - Lycée International de Houston
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 380 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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5 / 25#21. Fort Bend Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Sugar Land, TX
- Enrollment: 844 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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6 / 25#20. Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
- School type: Public School
- Location: Houston Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 786 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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7 / 25#19. St. Pius X High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 560 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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8 / 25#18. Obra D. Tompkins High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Katy Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 2,908 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Seven Lakes High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Katy Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 3,595 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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10 / 25#16. Debakey H.S. for Health Prof
- School type: Public School
- Location: Houston Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 916 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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11 / 25#15. Houston Quran Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 342 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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12 / 25#14. Saint Thomas' Episcopal School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 635 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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13 / 25#13. Incarnate Word Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 247 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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14 / 25#12. St. Thomas High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 749 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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15 / 25#11. Episcopal High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Bellaire, TX
- Enrollment: 811 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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16 / 25#10. The Emery/Weiner School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 632 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Carnegie Vanguard High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Houston Independent School District, TX
- Enrollment: 823 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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18 / 25#8. St. Agnes Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 922 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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19 / 25#7. Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 1,439 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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20 / 25#6. British International School of Houston
- School type: Private School
- Location: Katy, TX
- Enrollment: 1,165 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. The Kinkaid School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 1,469 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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22 / 25#4. The Awty International School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 1,796 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. The John Cooper School
- School type: Private School
- Location: The Woodlands, TX
- Enrollment: 1,343 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. The Village School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 1,756 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. St. John's School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Houston, TX
- Enrollment: 1,424 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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