School Guides by School District

All of the schools have rankings of 9 and higher. So really any vertical team (Elementary, Middle and High School) will meet the requirement of good ratings.

When I look at Round Rock ISD there are a majority of high scores. I will tell you as a parent, realtor, and Austinite the rankings at the high school level gave me pause. Westwood High School often times hits the best high schools in America list. It is known around town as really rigorous academically and has a population of high achieving students. It is rated as an 8 on this list. If you were going to base your decision solely off the rankings I feel like you would be doing yourself a disservice. Further, there is not one high school in RRISD that has a score of a 9 or better. Looking at the Middle schools’ ratings of a 9 or better it would be James Garland, Canyon Vista, Cedar Valley and Ridgeview. (These areas are near Anderson Mill, Brushy Creek and Avery Ranch.) Most elementary schools have a ranking of 9 or better.

This is a different animal altogether. There are magnet schools that come into play in this district. To apply to a magnet school you have to live in the district and each application process is different. The application process takes place in the January before the following August school year. For instance, everyone likes the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) because of its high rating. But it is a rigorous application process. The location is in southeast Austin. Kids spend a significant amount of time traveling to this location because of our traffic. Often times, kids that seem like they would be a “shoe in” don’t get in and have to go to a plan B. The Richards School for Young Women Leaders (aka Ann Richards School for Girls) is a lottery process giving economically disadvantaged families a preference. McCallum fine arts program is an audition process. These are all great schools but there is no guarantee so you want to make sure you have a solid plan B whether that is your zoned school or the option to do a private school. Overall in Austin ISD, there are quite a few elementary schools with high ratings. Middle school is the weak link. But many people in this district do private middle schools and circle back to a public high school.

There is only 1 high school in Lake Travis and it is currently rated 8/10. There are two middle schools that are both ranked above 9 and most of the elementary schools are above 9. Lake Travis HS is a big football school.

This is a large district with some schools that are above the 9 ranking. But the locations of these schools are undesirable from most people moving from out of state due to being so far from downtown and bad traffic. Vandegrift High School is considered a powerhouse school for sports and academics only ranks as an 8. The International Baccalaureate school, Cedar Park High School, is also an 8. For this school district, you would also want to really drill down on particular areas. I had a client inform me the other day that this school district does not currently and has no plans to offer orchestra to its students. I did not realize this but am aware that this might be an important point for some buyers.

A good ranking by the ABJ is available for download here: