Best private high schools in Texas
Private schools, in some form, existed long before the concept of free public education in America. Students were often educated through church-sponsored programs, private tutoring, and boarding schools. Public schools on a large scale were proposed by Horace Mann in the 1830s. The concept gained momentum, and by 1870, nearly 80% of kids aged 5 to 14 were enrolled in public schools. Today, according to the most recent enrollment data, about 4.7 million students—or 10% of students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12—are enrolled in private schools.
Private schools are widely marketed as a better option when compared to public schools, and private school proponents will often point to standardized test scores to substantiate this claim. While private school students have consistently outperformed public school students on standardized tests, recent studies have shown private schools themselves are not the primary driver of success, nor are standardized tests the most accurate measure of student well-being.
Researchers have found that student success is more directly related to family attributes, like having parents who graduated from college, and higher incomes—more common amongst private school students than public school students—than simply whether the students attended a public or private school.
Still, private schools provide unique advantages and opportunities like smaller class sizes, more individualized instruction, and greater curricular flexibility. To better understand how private school offerings vary across the country, Stacker compiled a list of the best private high schools in Texas using 2023 rankings from Niche. Niche uses eight weighted factors for its rankings. A majority of the score is based on academics and grades, but other factors include culture and diversity, health and safety, clubs and activities, resources, and surveys of parents, teachers and students.
Editor's note: The original article had inaccuracies when multiple schools in Texas had the same name. In most of these instances, the wrong data was displayed in the ranking. Stacker sincerely apologizes for the errors.
#30. The Oakridge School
- District: Arlington
- Enrollment: 768 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#29. Saint Thomas' Episcopal School
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 629 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#28. TMI Episcopal
- City: San Antonio
- Enrollment: 540 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#27. Fort Worth Country Day School
- City: Fort Worth
- Enrollment: 1,089 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#26. Episcopal High School
- District: Bellaire
- Enrollment: 796 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#25. Trinity Valley School
- City: Fort Worth
- Enrollment: 1,003 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#24. British International School of Houston
- District: Katy
- Enrollment: 900 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#23. Knowledge-First Empowerment Academy
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 121 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#22. Alcuin School
- City: Dallas
- Enrollment: 587 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#21. The Episcopal School of Dallas
- City: Dallas
- Enrollment: 1,148 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#20. Austin Peace Academy
- City: Austin
- Enrollment: 330 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#19. St. Andrew's Episcopal School
- City: Austin
- Enrollment: 973 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#18. Vanguard College Preparatory School
- City: Waco
- Enrollment: 268 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#17. The Emery/Weiner School
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 579 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#16. Dallas International School
- City: Dallas
- Enrollment: 570 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#15. St. John's School
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 1,422 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#14. Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas
- City: Dallas
- Enrollment: 1,149 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#13. St. Agnes Academy
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 921 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#12. Strake Jesuit College Preparatory
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 1,382 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#11. Saint Mary's Hall
- City: San Antonio
- Enrollment: 735 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#10. The Kinkaid School
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 1,423 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#9. Keystone School
- City: San Antonio
- Enrollment: 495 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#8. Cistercian Preparatory School
- District: Irving
- Enrollment: 357 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#7. The Village School
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 1,773 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#6. The John Cooper School
- District: The Woodlands
- Enrollment: 1,318 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#5. The Hockaday School
- City: Dallas
- Enrollment: 1,115 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#4. St. Stephen's Episcopal School
- City: Austin
- Enrollment: 699 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#3. Greenhill School
- District: Addison
- Enrollment: 1,346 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#2. The Awty International School
- City: Houston
- Enrollment: 1,754 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
#1. St. Mark's School of Texas
- City: Dallas
- Enrollment: 911 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
