High school students interested in learning college-level material, boosting their GPAs, and even earning college credit well before getting their acceptance letters should consider taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses or signing up for the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) if their schools offer them. High scores on AP [...]
The private school deposit is due in three weeks, and your zoned elementary just cycled through another principal. You're sitting at your kitchen table with cold coffee and a tuition spreadsheet, stuck somewhere deciding between the Katy Freeway traffic you'd face every morning and the $18,000 annual bill you're not [...]
The Texas School Voucher Program, "Education Freedom Account (TEFA)" program officially launched on February 4, 2026, offering Houston families up to $10,474 for private school tuition and up to $30,000 for students with qualifying disabilities. However, with Houston’s average private school tuition nearing $28,000, a significant funding gap remains. This [...]
Analysis of Houston School Choice Lottery for 2025-2026 The most popular Houston ISD (HISD) magnet schools for 2024-2025 are Harvard Elementary School, Pin Oak Middle School, and DeBakey High School. The application cycle for the 2025-2026 school year took place the previous year, between 2024-2025. Families had relatively decent chances of [...]
The best Houston public schools are often in the most expensive neighborhoods, and the average cost to buy into those areas like central Houston's West University is now north of $1.7 million. However, there are great schools in more affordable areas too, particularly neighborhoods receiving significant private investment. For [...]
The Texas Education Agency has finally released statewide SAT results for the class of 2024, and the results are good for Houston (TEA's SAT data is always 1 year late). Three out of the top 10 public schools in the state are in the Houston-area, including 2 from Houston [...]
What are Magnet Schools in Houston ISD? Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the eighth largest public school district in the U.S., with more than 176,000 students across 273 schools. Of those schools, 118 are considered Magnet Schools. Magnet schools, known as “magnets,” aim to attract specific types of students [...]
What is an SBISD Choice School? Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD) is a school district serving several portions of western Houston, providing education to approximately 35,000 across 46 schools. Sharing a lot of similarities with the concept of magnet schools in other districts, SBISD offers Choice Programs with [...]
Many Houstonians have a Houston zip code but aren't part of the Houston Independent School District (HISD). Spring Branch (SBISD) in west Houston's Memorial area is often compared to its larger neighbor. In SBISD, Spring Branch Academic Institute stands on top as Spring Branch Independent School District (SBISD)'s best elementary [...]
T.H. Rogers continues its reign as Houston Independent School District (HISD)'s best elementary and middle school by Texas STAAR test scores. Other top elementary schools include West University, Mandarin Immersion Magnet School (MIMS), Roberts, and River Oaks Elementary. MIMS is the district's #3 elementary and #2 middle school. Other top [...]