TXSmartSchools Results 2020

Using both academic progress and spending levels at Texas' school districts and individual school campuses, each district and campus has been assigned a Smart Score of one to five stars, indicating its success in combining cost-effective spending with the achievement of measurable student academic progress compared with their fiscal peers. Five stars reflects the strongest relative progress combined with the lowest relative spending.

Our school and district comparison calculations use three-year averages to get more stable and persistent measures with less year-to-year volatility. Thus, the 2020 TXSmartSchools results are based on data from the 2018-2019, 2017-2018, and 2016-2017 school years.

Five-Star Districts
May 2020

There were 44 five-star charter and public school districts in 2020. Another 88 districts earned four-and-a-half stars. Of the 44 five-star districts, 33 held that rank last year as well, and 13 earned it in each of the last four years.

2020 Five-Star Districts Charter County Enrolled
Accelerated Intermediate Academy Yes Harris 248
Alief Montessori Community School Yes Harris 305
Arlington Classics Academy Yes Tarrant 1,550
Callisburg ISD Cooke 1,151
Calvin Nelms Charter Schools Yes Harris 322
Chaparral Star Academy Yes Travis 385
Columbus ISD Colorado 1,528
Conroe ISD Montgomery 62,577
Coppell ISD Dallas 12,857
Cypress-Fairbanks ISD Harris 116,245
Frisco ISD Collin 60,028
Galena Park ISD Harris 22,264
George Gervin Academy Yes Bexar 1,054
Hardin-Jefferson ISD Hardin 2,330
Harmony School Of Excellence Yes Harris 5,026
Harmony School Of Science - Houston Yes Harris 3,778
Houston Gateway Academy Inc Yes Harris 2,409
Hunt ISD Kerr 204
Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD Tarrant 23,624
Imagine International Academy of North Texas Yes Collin 1,406
Lake Travis ISD Travis 10,695
Lamar CISD Fort Bend 33,347
Lancaster ISD Dallas 7,344
London ISD Nueces 1,106
Malta ISD Bowie 229
Mansfield ISD Tarrant 35,198
Mumford ISD Robertson 612
New Home ISD Lynn 478
Onalaska ISD Polk 1,119
Princeton ISD Collin 4,868
Prosper ISD Collin 14,287
Ricardo ISD Kleberg 689
Santa Gertrudis ISD Kleberg 804
Ser-Ninos Charter School Yes Harris 1,129
Shiner ISD Lavaca 662
Stephen F Austin State University Yes Nacogdoches 256
Sunnyvale ISD Dallas 1,880
Tomball ISD Harris 16,920
Treetops School International Yes Tarrant 391
Universal Academy Yes Dallas 2,058
Uplift Education Yes Dallas 18,709
Wylie ISD Collin 16,459
Wylie ISD Taylor 4,586
Yes Prep Public Schools Inc Yes Harris 11,405

Like independent school districts, some charter operators run only one campus, while others run multiple campuses. All charter operators are considered school districts for the purposes of the TXSmartSchools analysis.

Five-Star Campuses
May 2020

There were 246 five-star charter and public school campuses in 2020. Another 598 campuses earned four-and-a-half stars. Of the 246 five-star campuses, 142 held that rank last year as well, and 62 earned it in each of the last four years.

You can use the Apples2Apples comparison tool to list them all.

Fiscal Peers

Texas school districts function in widely varying cost environments. Making direct financial comparisons among them would not be fair or appropriate. Instead, this study evaluates each district and campus against those identified as “fiscal peers”, districts and campuses that operate in a similar cost environment, are of similar size and serve similar students. Many factors influence the costs that a district faces:

  • Cost of Living (Comparable Wage Index)
  • School District Size
  • Student Demographics
Required Plug-ins: