special-populations
One in Two Dallas Students Is Learning English
Dallas ISD crossed 50% English learner enrollment in 2024, joining 53 other Texas districts where a majority of students are classified LEP.
Texas
Education News & Data
Local education reporting from every corner of Texas, grounded in Texas Department of Education data.
437 Districts Hit All-Time Highs While 260 Hit All-Time Lows: Texas's Growing Graduation Split
Texas's graduation landscape is splitting: 437 districts hit all-time highs in 2024 while 260 hit all-time lows. Traditional ISDs average 95.6% vs 83.4% for charter/alternative schools.
Aldine's Surge and Donna's Streak: Two Texas Districts Show What Turnaround Looks Like
Aldine ISD jumped 6.2 points in a single year to reach 84.6%. Donna ISD posted four consecutive years of improvement to reach 96.3%. Both serve high-poverty, majority-Hispanic populations.
Texas Graduation Equity Gaps Cluster Within Eight Points
Texas's 2024 graduation gaps are tightly compressed in the state file: poverty 1.1 points, special education 6.6 points, and gender 2.0 points.
Fort Worth ISD's V-Shaped Recovery: From 81.0% Trough to 82.6%, but Still Below Pre-COVID Level
Fort Worth ISD's graduation rate plunged 4.4 points to 81.0% during COVID, then recovered to 82.6% -- but remains 2.8 points below its 2020 level and 11.8 below the state average.
More Coverage
graduation-rate
Texas's Quiet Success Story: English Learner Graduation Rates Surge 4.2 Points in Four Years
Texas English learners gained 4.2 percentage points in graduation rate over four years, the largest improvement of any subgroup, cutting the gap with all students by more than half.
district-spotlight
El Paso's Slide: The Border City's Graduation Rate Drops 5.3 Points While the Valley Thrives
El Paso ISD's graduation rate fell from 87.6% to 82.3% over five years while Rio Grande Valley districts like McAllen ISD climbed to 98.3%. Same demographics, different trajectories.
enrollment
Texas Added 1.1 Million Students, Then Enrollment Growth Stopped
Texas grew by 1.1 million students over 15 years, but the growth rate halved every five years. In 2026, it fell.
graduation-rate
Houston and Dallas: Texas's Two Largest Districts Both Graduate Under 85%
Houston ISD and Dallas ISD both posted 84% graduation rates for the Class of 2024, sitting more than 10 points below the state average of 94.4%.
school-choice
IDEA Public Schools Is Now Bigger Than Austin ISD
A charter that started with 659 students is now Texas' 6th-largest district at 79,608. But its growth engine just stalled.
district-spotlight
Karnes City ISD: From 94% to 41% in Five Years, Texas's Most Dramatic Graduation Collapse
Karnes City ISD's graduation rate fell from 94.2% to 41.4% over five years -- the largest decline of any Texas district -- as the Eagle Ford Shale town faces population volatility.
district-spotlight
Texas' Five Largest Urban Districts All Hit Record Lows
Houston, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, and San Antonio ISDs are simultaneously at their lowest enrollment in 22 years of data.
equity
The Invisible Students: Texas Reports No Graduation Data for Black and Native American Students
Texas tracks graduation rates for 13 student subgroups. For Black and Native American students, the structured files are blank across five years.
grade-shift
Texas Has More Seniors Than Kindergartners for the First Time
12th grade enrollment now exceeds kindergarten by 44,132 students in Texas, a complete inversion of the pipeline that held for decades.
graduation-rate
The 94.4% Ceiling: Texas's Graduation Rate Returns to Pre-COVID Peak, but 26 Districts Are Below 70%
Texas's 4-year graduation rate hit 94.4% for the Class of 2024, matching its pre-COVID peak. But 26 districts still graduate fewer than 70% of their students.
