Where Are the Best Schools in Austin Texas?

In terms of exactly where the best schools in Austin, Texas are, it really depends on what it is that you’re looking for in the long run. For instance, if you’re going by test scores, you’ll want to focus your attention west of the city, as well as the suburbs located in the Northwest and Southwest.

On the other hand, let’s assume that you may not want to live in the suburbs, yet you’re still looking for test scores that are still rather high. That’s when you will want to look toward schools in Central Austin. These neighborhoods are seen as the most desirable, which means that it can be potentially difficult for some families to afford.

Alternatively, let’s imagine that you don’t want to live in the suburbs, but you still want to find a neighborhood that you can afford to live in – for example, something in the range of $300,000 or under. This means you may likely have to look for schools in which the test scores won’t be as high as you’d prefer them to be. The biggest trend in this case would be to look in East Austin, more specifically in the vicinity of Windsor Park and University Hills.

Regardless of where you look, there’s one factor that hasn’t changed as of late, and that’s that the overall population in Austin’s public school system has been rapidly growing throughout the last several years, and it’s all thanks in large part to the increase of the area’s job market. This has especially been the case in the technology sector. On top of that, there has also been quite a lot of investment in the school districts themselves by businesses at the local and state level, which have helped to greatly improve the schools themselves. In fact, many of Austin’s schools rank among the top in the nation in terms of high-quality education, despite the fact that there are some that actually perform rather low at the same time. 

The Texas Education Agency is the entity that oversees all of the schools throughout Texas, including those in Austin. All of the local areas are essentially broken down into different regional Education Service Centers, all of which act as liaisons between the Agency and all of the state’s independent school districts. In terms of Austin, this city’s school districts are included in Region 13 ESC, and there are a total of 10 independent school districts in Austin that each run individual public schools:

*Austin

*Del Valle

*Dripping Springs

*Eanes

*Lago Vista

*Lake Travis

*Leander

*Manor

*Pflugerville

*Round Rock

Every district operates special programs or schools for students who suffer from mental or physical handicaps, as well as issues regarding emotional or behavioral problems. Additionally, there are opportunities for honors and advanced placement classes, as well as second language classes for some students.

The Austin Independent School District is the fifth largest district in the state of Texas and focuses on constantly highlighting both student academic achievement and diversity. The total population of students represents nearly 100 different languages, and many of the schools offer various language programs.

Back in 2013, approximately 19 metro Austin high schools became among the first in the entire United States to utilize text messaging to communicate with their students, as well as parents, regarding milestones having to do with college enrollment. A data portal was constructed and funded by the Austin Chamber, which enabled local school districts to access student-level data regarding both ACTs and SATs, as well as FAFSA completion, which would them prompt reminders to be sent via text message.

These messages encourage both teens and parents to complete important college enrollment tasks as soon as possible, as well as directing them to a counselor in the event that they need assistance with anything.

This type of service was initially developed due to schools in Austin witnessing students being accepted to college, yet failing to register and beginning school in the following fall semester. This type of behavior was found to be particularly prevalent in students who came from disadvantaged and lower-income backgrounds, and to help bridge that gap, schools use a summer text messaging program to help give students all of the necessary information that they need in order to make sure that they’re fully prepared.