Study Says Latexo, Hudson, and Broaddus Are Top ETX High Schools

US News and World Report has released its 2026-27 rankings of high schools across America. The top high school in America is the Central Magnet School located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Meanwhile, the best high school in Texas (number 8 in the nation) is the School for the Talented and Gifted located in Dallas.

What Data Did US News Use To Rank High Schools?

There were 6 criteria used in this study: College readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, and graduation rates. These indicators were weighted to produce an overall score, with 100 being the top score, assigned to each high school.

Ranking The Deep East Texas High Schools

A few housekeeping notes before we get to our area's high school rankings. Each school is given two numbers: its ranking in Deep East Texas, and where each school ranks in the state of Texas. Some smaller high schools were unranked, while those schools that received a ranking between 1311 and 1592 were not given a specific ranking number. There are a total of 2297 public high schools in Texas, with 1592 of those receiving a ranking in this study.

Latexo - 242
Hudson - 329
Broaddus - 478
Slocum - 519
Lufkin - 579
Pineywoods Community Academy - 580
Central Heights - 631
Brookeland - 736
Lovelady - 768
Big Sandy - 799
Martinsville - 832
Cushing - 855
Elkhart - 857
Hemphill - 861
Colmesneil - 916
Alto - 943
Nacogdoches - 950
Joaquin - 982
Garrison - 995
Groveton - 1011
Huntington - 1055
Shelbyville - 1066
Douglass - 1078
Diboll - 1123
Woodville - 1148
Woden - 1154
Corrigan-Camden - 1176
Trinity - 1189
Center - 1199
Coldspring/Oakhurst - 1216
Onalaska - 1217
Chireno - 1225
Zavalla -1284
Central - 1291
Timpson -1293
Jasper - 1303

Apple Springs - 1311-1592
Crockett - 1311 - 1592
Grapeland - 1311- 1592
Livingston - 1311-1592
Mt. Enterprise - 1311-1592
Newton - 1311-1592
Rusk - 1311-1592
San Augustine - 1311-1592
Shepherd - 1311-1592
Spurger - 1311-1592
Tenaha - 1311-1592
Wells - 1311-1592
West Sabine - 1311-1592
Centerville - Unranked
Chester - Unranked
Goodrich - Unranked
Kennard - Unranked
Leggett - Unranked

US News and World Report is a reputable news and lifestyle source; however, the results of this nationwide high school study are based on both objective and subjective data and methodology. Some of these rankings are in stark contrast to the recently released Texas schools' accountability grades assigned by the T.E.A.