Top Houston and Texas High Schools by SAT Score 2025

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 ISD (HISD), and the very best school is from Spring Branch (SBISD). The average SAT score for all Texans was a 982 out of 1600 versus 1024 for the entire nation. Texas’s score is slightly lower than the national average due to its high testing rate, which includes students who wouldn’t otherwise have taken the SAT had their school not required it.

The Houston-area’s top public high schools with an average SAT score of 1248 (86th percentile) are:

1. Spring Branch Academic Institute (Spring Branch)
2. Carnegie Vanguard High School (HISD)
3. DeBakey High School for Health Professions (HISD)
4. Clements High School (Fort Bend)
5. Seven Lakes High School (Katy), and
6. Memorial High School (Spring Branch).

Within HISD specifically, the top schools are Carnegie Vanguard, DeBakey and Kinder HSPVA. Within SBISD, the top schools are Spring Branch Academic Institute, Memorial, and Westchester.

At Fort Bend ISD, the top schools are Clements, Austin, and Elkins. Within Katy ISD (the top schools are Seven Lakes, Tompkins, and Jordan. Within Clear Creek ISD, the top schools are Clear Horizons, Clear Lake, and Clear Springs.

The most popular colleges among graduating high school Texans include Texas A&M, University of Texas Austin, and the University of Houston. Baylor University (7) is the most popular private college followed by Rice University (12) and Texas Christian University (15).

The most popular college majors among SAT-takers include Health Professions, Business, and Engineering.

Houston High School SAT Score Key Takeaways

• There are many high performing public schools in the Houston area.
• Several of the top schools are lottery based magnet schools for gifted and talented students.
• Regardless of their school, all students can and should independently prepare for the SAT test.

How to Read These Tables

• “Composite” refers to the total SAT composite score out of 1600, which is the sum of the “Reading” and “Math” scores that are each out of 800.
• “# Tested” refers to how many students of that graduating class took the SAT. This number may be masked in the data in some cases, and will only be an estimate (ex: “<75” for less than 75 students taking the exam).
• “Participation” gives a percentage of the students in the graduating class that have SAT scores in their school’s data.
• “CCR” refers to what percent of the testers have met the SAT benchmark for Career and College Readiness by scoring both above a 530 in the Math portion and above a 480 on the Reading section. “Benchmark” score are the minimum score a student can earn and still be considered college and career ready by the non-profit developer of the SAT test, College Board.

Top Houston ISD (HISD) High Schools by SAT Scores

Houston’s top, public high schools by SAT test scores are Carnegie Vanguard, DeBakey, and Kinder HSPVA. Carnegie is also the Houston-area’s top public school by National Merit Semifinalists, students who scored in the top 1% on the PSAT.

The average SAT score at number one Carnegie Vanguard was a 1350 out of 1600 for the graduating class of 2024. This score places Carnegie’s seniors among the top 8% of all seniors nationwide. Medical-career focused DeBakey isn’t far behind at 1292, placing its seniors among the top 12%. Kinder HSPVA’s score of a 1199 places its fine arts students among the top 20%.

All three of HISD’s top-schools are comprised solely of magnet-transfer students designated as gifted and talented, meaning the brightest 14% of students in the district. The top three “general enrollment” high schools are Bellaire (1096), Lamar (989), and Westside (974).

The average SAT score across HISD’s 45 high schools was a 920 out of 1600, which is a decline from last year’s 933. About 70% of all Texas seniors took the SAT in 2024, where the average score fell to a 971 down from 978, and nationwide the average fell to a 1024 from 1028. These scores for HISD’s class of 2024 represent the last group of juniors’ testing performance before the state’s takeover of the district in June 2023.

Only 23% of HISD seniors met the minimum benchmark score for college and career readiness.

The district’s average English score of a 473 out of 800, barely places seniors below the 480 benchmark.  However HISD’s average math score of 451 out of 800 is significantly below the 530 benchmark. Only at Carnegie, DeBakey, HSPVA, and Energy Institute did more than 51% of graduating seniors meet College Boards’s benchmark scores.

HISD’s average composite score of a 924 places the district’s seniors in the 31st percentile, meaning that 69 percent of seniors nationwide are scoring higher. However, standardized test scores like the SAT and ACT remain inextricably linked to race and particularly family income. When HISD’s scores are weighted by demographics, it actually matches and sometimes exceeds state and national results².

Similar to the STAAR test for younger students, Texas pays for and essentially requires most public school juniors to take either the ACT or SAT. As such, the participation rate at HISD was 87% for the class of 2024, which would have taken the test in-class in the spring of 2023.

The low SAT benchmark scores may help to explain why only 47% of Americans hold an associates degree or higher when more than 62% of high school graduates go on to attend college.

Top Spring Branch ISD (SBISD) High Schools by SAT Scores

Spring Branch ISD’s Class of 2024 SAT results show strong overall performance, especially at the top end. Spring Branch Academic Institute (SBAI) stands out as technically the best school in the state with a 97th percentile composite score of 1478. However, enrollment at SBAI is very selective. Fewer than 25 students took the SAT for the class of 2024 at SBAI.

Memorial High School led the general enrollment campuses with an average composite score of 1215, while Westchester Academy and Stratford High School followed with 1118 and 1092, respectively. The districtwide average of 1040 remains above both the state and national averages, demonstrating solid academic outcomes across schools. Notably,

Top Fort Bend ISD (FBISD) High Schools by SAT Scores

Fort Bend ISD demonstrates consistently strong SAT performance anchored by Clements High School, which posts an exceptional 1236 composite and maintains a 75.6% college-readiness rate. A large group of schools, including Austin, Elkins, Dulles, and Travis, score in the 1080–1135 range, reflecting the district’s overall academic strength. Participation is unusually high (many schools above 90% and some at 100%), making these averages credible indicators of district-wide performance. While some campuses like Marshall and Willowridge show lower readiness rates and composites, the district as a whole ranks among the most academically competitive large districts in Texas.

Top Katy ISD (KISD) High Schools by SAT Scores

Katy ISD continues to demonstrate elite SAT performance, led by Seven Lakes, Tompkins, and Jordan, all scoring near or above 1190—placing them among the top public high schools in the Houston area. These three campuses show balanced strength across Reading and Math, each posting scores around 590–620 in both sections. A second tier—including Cinco Ranch, Taylor, and Katy HS—performs solidly in the 1090–1120 range. Participation rates remain very high across the district, ensuring reliable comparisons. Katy’s top schools match or surpass the best-performing campuses in Fort Bend, reaffirming KISD’s status as one of the strongest academically competitive districts in Texas.

Top Clear Creek ISD (CCISD) High Schools by SAT Scores

Clear Creek ISD’s SAT performance shows a clear tiered structure, with Clear Horizons Early College High School leading the district at 1127, well above the other campuses. The next highest performers—Clear Lake, Clear Springs, and Clear Falls—cluster tightly in the 1039–1063 range, while Clear Brook and Clear View trail behind, the latter scoring below 900. Reading scores across the district tend to outpace Math by a small margin, and participation rates remain high (mostly above 85%), suggesting the scores reflect broad student performance rather than selective testing. Overall, CCISD’s strongest schools are competitive at the regional level, but the district shows sizable performance gaps between campuses.

How Does Houston ISD Compare with other Houston Area School Districts?

When looking at district-level data, Houston ISD’s Class of 2024 SAT performance trails most other nearby districts. With an average composite score of 924, Houston ranks 38th out of 62 districts in the dataset. The statewide average across Texas districts is approximately 982, meaning Houston students scored about 60 points lower on average.

Some of HISD’s performance can be attributed to scale, as they are the largest district in the state by a wide margin, with their 10,117 testers being nearly double the next largest district. Also, HISD’s urban student body is significantly less well-off than the state average. Nearly 80% of the district’s students qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program compared to 57% for all Texas students.

Texas’s Top High Schools by SAT Score

For a more complete look at the statewide performance of schools, here are all campuses in Texas with a participation rate of 50% or higher. The Houston area has three schools in the top 10: SBAI, Carnegie Vanguard, and DeBakey.

Most Popular Colleges for Texas Graduates

Students taking the SAT have the option to send their scores directly to the colleges of their choice; 61% of Texas students participated in this service. The most popular colleges among Texas, college-bound seniors were Texas A&M, University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Houston. The most popular private universities were Rice University (12th overall), Texas Christian University, and University of Dallas. The most popular out of state colleges were the University of Arkansas, University of Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State University.

Most Popular College Majors for Texas Seniors

Students taking the SAT are asked about their intended majors. The most popular majors among Texas high school seniors are  Health Professions (14% of respondents), Business (13%), and Engineering (9%). Students intending to major in Physical Sciences earned the second highest average SAT scores with a 578 in Reading and 563 in math; the highest scores were earned by those intending to major in Mathematics and Statistics (598 in Reading and 618 in Math).

How to Improve SAT and ACT Test Scores

College Admissions tests like the ACT and SAT should not be particularly mysterious. They simply test a student’s strengths in core academics like Math and English. In fact, a strong predictor of a student’s success on the SAT is their grade in challenging Algebra or English courses.

Top 5 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Test Score:

1. Work hard in your English and Math courses, particularly Algebra I and Algebra II
2. Take free practice tests (College Board offers at least 6), and get to know the test structure and format (see above)
3. Learn from your mistakes; the majority of your prep should be re-learning what you’ve forgotten
4. Learn some basic test-taking strategies like time management and how to read the questions
5. Take the SAT or ACT at least twice; multiple test takers consistently see higher scores, and there are fee-waivers if you cannot afford the registration fee

Don’t get hung up on learning “tips and tricks.” There are no amount of tips and tricks that will overcome an inability to manipulate fractions or identify the main idea of a sentence. Also, don’t think that you simply “suck at math” or just need to “read more“. You can improve in all of these areas with a well-structured plan and dedicated resolve.

Ask your school for help. Every Texas school receives a government accountability rating from a scale of A-F. SAT and ACT scores are part of this rating. Your school administrators do not want to have low scores. As such, they do have the incentive and the money to help you do your best.

More College Prep Advice from General Academic

• Best Summer Opportunities for High School Students
• Test-Optional College Admissions for Texas Students
• College Essay Tips – Common App, Supplemental Essays, and More
• Houston’s National Merit Semifinalists for 2025-2026
• Houston ISD’s Best Elementary and Middle Schools by STAAR Scores 2025

Additional Sources

• HISD Facts and Figures 
• College Board Texas Annual Report Class of 2024
• College Board 2025 SAT Suite Annual Report Total Group PDF

Notes

1. The original dataset for Houston ISD’s Class of 2024 can be downloaded here.
2. Accounting for demographics means to calculate a weighted average based off the same demographics between Houston, Texas, and the US. These three groups do not have the same demographics, so to do these calculations is an approximation.

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