CASE Report: HISD Schools Earn Top National Ranks

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HISD Schools Earn Top National Ranks

Two Houston ISD middle schools ranked among the best 10 public campuses in the state, according to the 2025 rankings from the U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News listed T. H. Rogers School at No. 8 and Briarmeadow Charter School at No. 10 in its annual ratings of 4,069 ranked Texas middle schools published Thursday. The publication also published its rankings of the state’s top elementary schools , where it ranked West University Elementary at No. 20 and T. H. Rogers School at No. 23 of 6,609 schools in the state.

Houston Chronicle’s full story is here.

Why it matters: The annual review ranked schools based on students’ math and reading performance and proficiency on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness.

Since the rankings are based on academic proficiency, the rankings show that HISD students are getting an excellent education and can compete with any students across the country.

What they’re saying:"The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children's education,” said LaMont Jones, the managing editor for education at U.S. News, said in a statement. "Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

Here’s a list of the HISD elementary schools ranked among the top 300 schools in Texas:

Here’s a list of the HISD middle schools ranked among the top 300 schools in Texas:

Experts Advise “Communicating the Success” for Future Bond

As the dust settles from the recent election, the path toward an eventual bond for HISD may be starting to take shape.

According to a survey of about 500 Texans by two University of Houston researchers in September and October, voters may be more likely to support a future bond measure if they are exposed to more information about the improved academic performance in NES schools following the state takeover.

The UH survey found that Texas voters, including HISD residents, “were significantly more likely” to support the $4.4 billion bond after learning about improved proficiency rates in NES schools. It concluded that more communication from HISD about growth in student outcomes could have multiple benefits, including galvanizing support amongst voters for the bond.

Houston Chronicle’s full story is here.

By the numbers: HISD has plenty recent academic success to talk about. HISD has significantly improved its academics under the TEA takeover, according to STAAR , NWEA , and A-F ratings. The district’s initial 85 NES and NES-aligned campuses reported greater percentage point increases among students who met grade level in nearly all of the STAAR exams compared to non-NES schools this year.

Why it matters: HISD sorely needs a bond. Currently, students and teachers are forced to endure unacceptable conditions on a daily basis.

According to the experts, HISD’s academic success, which has occurred despite the poor conditions, could galvanize community members to support a future bond.

After all, if HISD students are doing so extraordinarily well in these poor conditions, imagine what they could do if the air conditioning worked in the summer and if the water were lead-free?

What they’re saying: “This is an opportunity for the district,” said Sands, the survey co-author. “Prior to proposing another bond, we would recommend that the district adopt a new communication strategy that shares the successes in terms of student learning and connects these gains to a longer-term strategy that includes infrastructure upgrades…”

HISD Admin, Teachers to Develop New Evaluation System

HISD plans to install a new "pay-for-performance model" for 2026-2027 outside of NES campuses that ties teacher salaries to "instructional effectiveness". The district is collaborating with teachers to create this new system in order to make sure it is effective, accurate, and understandable.

Importantly, no teacher will see a reduction in their base salary under pay-for-performance.

"We are in the process of developing the Teacher Excellence System, or TES, our proposed new teacher evaluation system, which would build upon the foundation of T-TESS (state-approved Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System ) — the state and Houston ISD's current system," Deputy Chief of Academics Alyssa Murray said. "The new system being developed will still focus on student achievement and quality of instruction at the core, but may include some additional elements that teachers will have a voice in — student survey, campus action plan."

Houston Chronicle’s story is here.

Why it matters: In the majority of organizations, those with the best results get the best compensation. Once the new evaluation system is implemented, the teaching profession will operate the same way.

By rewarding high-performing teachers with higher compensation, teachers will be incentivized to ensure students are learning and top teachers from other areas will be attracted to the district.

Teacher unions have long resisted merit pay, instead preferring an “equality of outcomes” approach where everyone gets paid the exact same, regardless of effectiveness, attendance, or student academic achievement. Despite the union opposition, HISD teachers are taking this opportunity to contribute to the development of the system that they will eventually be evaluated on.

By the numbers: Murray said the district increased average teacher salary by nearly 12% or an average of more than $8,000 since the 2022-2023 school year. Murray added the average teacher at non-New Education System (NES) campuses saw their salary increase by nearly $3,000, while the average New Education System (NES) teacher — executing state-appointed Superintendent Mike Miles' reforms — saw their average salary increase by $13,500.

What they’re saying:"My trailblazer teachers have openly stood up in front of my campus staff and said, 'Hey, you've got to give your feedback, because they're really looking at it, they're really reading it, they're really making decisions based off what you said. So, we can't complain about it later if we're not willing to stand up right now and voice our opinion based on what they see.’” - Erika Vigil - Henry Middle School principal.

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