The answer to which school district in Texas ranks number one depends on which measure you use, but several of the most credible metrics point to the same district: Carroll ISD in Southlake. And while a handful of other districts make legitimate claims depending on the methodology, Carroll's consistency across multiple measures over multiple years gives it the strongest case for the top spot among Texas's 1,200-plus school districts.
Carroll ISD: The Strongest Claim to Number One
Carroll ISD serves approximately 8,280 students across 11 campuses in Southlake, with portions of Colleyville, Grapevine, Keller, and Westlake also in the district's footprint. It is a small district by Texas standards, operating five elementary schools, two intermediate schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. That size is part of what makes it possible to maintain the kind of district-wide consistency that larger districts find difficult.
Carroll ISD earned A grades from the Texas Education Agency for all 11 campuses in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, achieving an overall district score of 95 out of 100, with campus-level Student Achievement scores ranging from 94 to 99 across all schools. According to Carroll ISD's own announcement of the August 2025 TEA ratings, the district has now earned straight A grades for 2023, 2024, and 2025, a three-year streak of perfect district-wide accountability ratings across all three TEA domains: Student Achievement, School Progress, and Closing the Gaps.
Carroll Senior High School in Southlake posts 99% math and 95% social studies proficiency on 2024 STAAR assessments with 1,422 students enrolled. The Carroll Senior scores page shows the district's flagship campus performing at or near perfect on the measures it reports. The district's average SAT score for 2022-23 graduates was 1281 and its average ACT score was 26.8, both well above state and national averages. Its four-year graduation rate is 99.6%, compared to a statewide average of 90.3%.
Carroll ISD's TEA Student Achievement index, which measures the percentage of total student assessments across all subjects that meet or exceed STAAR standards, was 96 in 2023, one of the highest of any district in Texas. Only about 11.9% of Texas K-12 school districts earn an A accountability grade in any given year, and earning that grade across all 11 campuses simultaneously is something Carroll has done consistently.
The Strongest Competition
Carroll ISD's claim to the top spot is credible but not undisputed. Several other Texas districts post performance data that competes with Carroll's at the high school level and deserve to be part of the conversation.
Highland Park High School in Dallas posts 94% ELA, 88% science, and 98% social studies on 2024 STAAR with 2,119 students enrolled. Highland Park ISD serves the Park Cities communities of Highland Park and University Park, two of the wealthiest zip codes in Texas, and has maintained a reputation as Dallas's premier public school district for generations. The district's small size, approximately 7,000 students total, and its extraordinarily affluent parent community produce outcomes that match or exceed Carroll's at the high school level. Highland Park ISD's TEA accountability ratings have been consistently at the top of the state.
Westlake High School under Eanes ISD in Austin posts 94% ELA, 95% science, 83% math, and 93% social studies on 2024 STAAR with 2,854 students enrolled, the most balanced multi-subject performance of any high school in Texas. The Westlake scores page shows exceptional performance across all four STAAR subjects, with science and ELA scores matching or exceeding Carroll. Eanes ISD serves the affluent Westlake Hills and Rollingwood communities west of Austin and has earned A grades from TEA consistently. Westlake High's science proficiency of 95% is the highest of any large public high school in the state by a significant margin.
Reedy High School in Frisco posts 92% ELA, 92% science, and 94% social studies with 2,201 students, leading Frisco ISD's strong high school cluster. Frisco ISD as a whole earned an A grade from TEA and is one of the largest districts in Texas to achieve that rating consistently. The district's size, over 60,000 students, makes its district-wide performance more impressive than Carroll's in some respects, though its individual campus scores generally sit below Carroll's peak.
Coppell High School in Coppell posts 87% ELA with 4,068 students enrolled, the largest high school campus in this comparison, making it the strongest academic performer among Texas's very large high school campuses. Coppell ISD has earned consistent A grades from TEA and competes with Carroll and Highland Park in the DFW metro's top school district conversation.
What the TEA Accountability System Measures
Understanding what the TEA's A through F rating actually measures matters for interpreting these comparisons correctly. The TEA grades districts and campuses on three domains. Student Achievement measures what percentage of students meet or exceed STAAR grade level standards and graduation rates. School Progress measures whether students are improving over time and compares performance to schools with similar economic demographics. Closing the Gaps measures whether different student populations, including economically disadvantaged students, English learners, and students with disabilities, are meeting standards.
Carroll ISD's 95 overall score with a Student Achievement score of 90 in 2023-24 and 88 in 2024-25 reflects a district that is genuinely excellent academically but also benefits significantly from a student population that is 85% economically advantaged. Only 15.2% of Carroll students are considered at risk of dropping out, compared to much higher rates in more economically diverse districts. The Closing the Gaps domain, which measures equity, is where smaller, wealthier districts like Carroll sometimes score lower than districts serving more diverse populations.
This matters because a district that scores 95 overall while serving a predominantly affluent population is demonstrating something different from a district that scores 85 while serving a demographically diverse student body. Both metrics are real and meaningful, but they measure different things. Carroll's top ranking reflects genuine academic excellence and also the demographic advantage of serving one of the wealthiest communities in Texas.
The Largest Districts That Score Highest
Among Texas's large districts, the performance picture shifts considerably. The largest districts in the state, Dallas ISD, Fort Worth ISD, Houston ISD, and San Antonio ISD, all serve predominantly low-income and diverse student populations and face challenges that small affluent districts like Carroll don't encounter. Among large suburban districts with substantial enrollment, Frisco ISD and Allen ISD in Collin County have the strongest claims to top performance.
Allen ISD earned an A grade from TEA and Allen High School enrolls 5,206 students at 75% ELA, making it one of the strongest single-campus large high schools in the state. Frisco ISD's top campuses, Reedy, Wakeland, and Liberty, all post scores in the 90% to 92% ELA range, giving the district the strongest top-tier cluster of any large Texas district.
The Honest Answer
By TEA accountability ratings, Carroll ISD has the strongest sustained record in Texas: A grades across all 11 campuses for three consecutive years, a 95 overall district score, and campus-level Student Achievement scores of 94 to 99. No other district of comparable size has matched that consistency in recent TEA cycles.
By individual high school STAAR performance, Westlake High School under Eanes ISD arguably posts the most balanced multi-subject profile of any large campus in the state, with 94% to 95% across ELA and science. Carroll Senior High School leads on math at 99%, the highest math proficiency score of any large public high school in Texas.
By district-wide performance among larger districts, Frisco ISD has the strongest cluster of top-performing campuses of any district serving over 50,000 students, making it the best argument for district-wide excellence at scale.
For families deciding where to live based on school quality, Carroll ISD's address in Southlake is the closest thing Texas has to a guaranteed top-tier public school experience at every grade level. But Eanes ISD's Westlake, Highland Park ISD, and Frisco ISD's top zones all deliver outcomes within a narrow range of Carroll's, and each of those communities has its own character and cost profile that affects the decision beyond just the school rankings.
Browse schools by county across the top Texas districts in Tarrant County, Collin County, Dallas County, and Travis County on allk12 to see school profiles, score histories on each school's scores page, and what parents and community members are saying in the discussion boards.
