Write this down: U.S. News and World Report recently compiled a 2026 list of the state’s best K-8 schools. At No.1 in Texas, in none other than Dallas ISD middle school, William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted.
In its analysis, the publication analyzed nearly 80,000 pre-K, elementary, and middle schools across the country leveraging three main factors:
1. Student Proficiency
An analysis of students’ performance on state assessments of core subjects including mathematics, reading, and language arts.
2. Student Achievement
Accounts for student background and growth achievement, reflecting educational effectiveness all students – those from more high-performing backgrounds as well as those from traditionally underserved communities.
3. Tie-Breaker
In the event of a tie-breaker between schools’ overall scores, the report factored in student-teacher ratio as a final determiner, ranking higher schools with a lower number of students per teacher.
On U.S. News and World Report’s 2026 report of the best schools in Texas, numerous Dallas ISD schools featured among the best in the state. The top ranked middle school in the country, according to the report, is William B. Travis Academy/Vanguard for the Academically Talented and Gifted.
Also ranked #4 for Texas Elementary Schools, the Dallas ISD school is a 4-8 school excelled in its math and proficiency scores, 97% and 100%, respectively, for middle school students. The schools employees 30 teachers and one counselor at a 17:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Other Dallas ISD schools that ranked highly on the list include Sudie L William Talented and Gifted Academy, ranked at No. 5 in Texas Elementary Schools and No. 3 in Texas Middle Schools; and School for the Talented & Gifted in Pleasant Grove, which ranked No. 12 in Texas Elementary Schools and No. 6 in Texas Middle Schools.
Overton Park Elementary also ranked high on the list, placing #11 in Texas Elementary Schools.