Houston's Top High Schools - Ranked by SAT's (2012 scores) (San Antonio: foreclose, home)

[jr1038]

Some others to include on the list:

College Park HS: 1628
Oak Ridge HS: 1437
Conroe HS: 1414
Caney Creek: 1351

Cy Woods: 1556
Cy-Fair HS: 1537
Jersey Village HS: 1488
Cy Falls: 1473
Cy Ridge: 1459
Cy Lakes: 1414
Cy Springs: 1355

Klein HS: 1585
Klein Oak: 1539
Klein Collins: 1505

Spring HS: 1349

[GTRdad]

Maybe we should add average property taxes paid in that list

[fnh]

Originally Posted by LizzySWW

Lamar the 2nd best school in HISD (excluding specialized schools) so it's definitely an attractive option.

But like I said before, TEA says that most of the better schools show that over 80% of 11th graders take the SAT. So Lamar's SAT average is on a level playing field. Or am I missing something? I could be looking at it the wrong way, I'm working on a few hours of sleep today! :-)

Consider that the 20% of students not taking the SAT at those other schools are likely not the college-bound variety, a fundamentally different sample than students who choose to take the test. Lamar tests ALL students, including those 20%, on top of having a 47% economically disadvantaged, majority minority population. (http://dept.houstonisd.org/profiles/Lamar_HS.pdf) So I do think it makes a big difference. When you consider the population actually taking the test, I think Lamar is underrated on this list. That's why I think you must dig into demographics and participation rates to draw meaningful conclusions from SAT scores. (And, as houston-nomad points out, you ideally want to see more descriptors of the data range, not just a crude mean. Not as many schools provide that information, unfortunately.)

[Bad Haggis]

Originally Posted by LizzySWW

I hear you, but.......If you look into it you'll see what I've found. Kids in the top 10% of lower performing schools are largely kicked out of UT & A&M after their freshman year due to grades. They aren't prepared for the rigor. You can be in the top 5% at say....Kashmere HS but you probably aren't nearly as qualified as a kid in the upper 50% of Cinco Ranch HS.

If you want a source on this I'll have to get back to you, I have several current & reliable links to this info in my computer somewhere.



Lamar is the 2nd best school in HISD (excluding specialized schools) so it's definitely an attractive option.

But like I said before, TEA says that most of the better schools show that over 80% of 11th graders take the SAT. So Lamar's SAT average is on a level playing field. Or am I missing something? I could be looking at it the wrong way, I'm working on a few hours of sleep today! :-)



A school near the 610 loop is in a suburb of Houston??

Memorial HS is in the city of Houston and close to the 610 loop just like Bellaire HS, it's also close to 610 inside the city of Houston.

Memorial and Bellaire are close-in old neighborhoods, but they aren't in "the suburbs". Generally speaking, Houston suburbs are outside of Beltway 8 and the Grand Parkway.......and even further beyond ex: The Woodlands, Clear Lake, Friendswood.

Clear Lake HS is in the Houston city limits, no farther from downtown than Alief.

CL is high performing and therefore suburban.
You already know about Alief.

In any other southern city not in Texas, Memorial HS would be 100% suburban.

[NTexas2010]

Good information for everyone who is quick to praise Sugar Land / FBISD but afraid of those mixed income areas of LCISD in Richmond/Rosenberg. Looks to me like if you and your children care about grades and are involved, you're probably going to do more than okay. <-- Lamar HS (LCISD) graduate and City Data Forum member.

[houstonfan]

Originally Posted by Bad Haggis

The avg score in the US is 1500 out of 2400. Why is Eastwood even on this list??? Westside??? Anything below the top 10 posted arent good enough to be worth mentioning.

Exactly. Considering that American education is mediocre, at best, when compared to other nations in the world, why are certain posters even trumpeting schools on CD that avg less than 1700? Shouldn't we expct more from our schools and our kids?

US teens lag in global education rankings as Asian countries rise to the top - U.S. News

[Bad Haggis]

Originally Posted by houstonfan

Exactly. Considering that American education is mediocre, at best, when compared to other nations in the world, why are certain posters even trumpeting schools on CD that avg less than 1700? Shouldn't we expct more from our schools and our kids?

US teens lag in global education rankings as Asian countries rise to the top - U.S. News

I've never seen this so-called trumpeting everyone keeps mentioning but I'll take your word for it. I'd also be careful touting that information. Is a culture of copying, pasting, imitating, stealing, cheating, etc... and innovating almost nothing what we want our children to imitate?

[usc619]

Originally Posted by Bad Haggis

I've never seen this so-called trumpeting everyone keeps mentioning but I'll take your word for it. I'd also be careful touting that information. Is a culture of copying, pasting, imitating, stealing, cheating, etc... and innovating almost nothing what we want our children to imitate?

WTH liberty4tx is always trumping Cinco, 7L and Thompkins(brand new school) over Katy for some reason IMHO there're basically the same.

[colcat]

Originally Posted by 14Bricks

lol, that's right, get into the top ten percent of your class and get a automatic admission into UT or A&M.

The whole automatic admission just because you are in the top 10% of your class is pure crap. Case in point- my son's first room mate at A&M went to a poor performing school in San Antonio. He was in the top 10%. Automatic admission. My kid was only in the top 25%(The Woodlands) and applied to many state colleges. He barely got accepted into A&M. My son's room mate failed out after the first year. He had NEVER written a paper in school. NEVER. He struggled and was constantly asking for help from my son. My son, on the other hand graduated with honors from the engineering program. My point is that due to the top 10% rule, many deserving students are not able to go to certain colleges because the slots are being filled by these so called top 10% kids in low performing schools where my dog could probably get a diploma.

[Meyerland]

Some teens are spending 9-11 grades at a top ranked school and the transfer to a lower performing school for 12 grade. Then they have the higher rank and the great education.

I personally would be more concerned with AP or IB programs at a school vs the SAT scores. I would want to know what the passing rate for those exams was. My child is a really good test taker as I was. It's the day to day stuff she has more difficulty with.