U.S. News declares 2 San Antonio high schools best for 2026

Two local schools — Basis San Antonio - Shavano Campus and San Antonio ISD's Young Women's Leadership Academy — are standing tall as two of the 100 best high schools in America, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2026-2027 Best High Schools rankings. And five more San Antonio-area schools join them in the statewide top 100.

Each year, U.S. News evaluates approximately 27,000 public high schools on six factors: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, and graduation rates.

The highest ranking public schools provide the best educational environments where "students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores on an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions."

"Every student deserves a pathway to success, and that journey often begins with selecting the right school," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor for education at U.S. News. "The 2026-2027 Best High Schools rankings empower families with the valuable data and transparency they need to help make the best educational choices for them. We are proud to offer this essential resource to help shape the next generation of college-ready students."

Top-ranking San Antonio schools
Basis San Antonio - Shavano Campus ranks as the 8th best high school in Texas this year, and it's the 57th best high school in the country (up from No. 58 last year). The school also ranks as the 13th best charter school in the nation, and it ranks No. 21 among the best STEM schools nationally.

Young Women's Leadership Academy is the 11th best Texas high school and ranks 100th nationwide (down from No. 98 last year). Among the best U.S. charter schools, YWLA ranks No. 23.

Idea Carver College Preparatory was the only other local school to make the top 100 in U.S. News' national ranking of the best charter schools, landing in the No. 56 spot, and it ranks 34th statewide.

Other San Antonio-area schools that rank among the 100 best in Texas are:

• No. 15 – Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Comal ISD, Bulverde
• No. 19 – Health Careers High School, Northside ISD, San Antonio
• No. 72 – Memorial Early College High School, Comal ISD, New Braunfels
• No. 87 – SST San Antonio College Preparatory High School

Other nationally ranked Texas high schools
Nine more Texas high schools graduate to U.S. News' list of the top 100 high schools in the U.S. for 2026-2027:

• Dallas ISD's The School for the Talented and Gifted, No. 8 (up from No. 9 last year). TAG also ranked No. 17 nationally among the best STEM schools.
• Houston ISD’s Carnegie Vanguard High School, No. 25 (up from No. 42 last year).
• Mansfield ISD's Mansfield Frontier High School, No. 33.
• Dallas ISD's School of Science and Engineering, No. 36 (down from No. 23 last year). SSE also ranked No. 20 nationally among the best STEM schools.
• Austin ISD’s Liberal Arts and Science Academy, No. 43 (down from No. 36 last year).
• Dallas ISD's Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School, No. 15 (up from No. 23 last year).
• Dallas ISD's Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet, No. 49 (up from No. 84 last year).
• Houston ISD’s DeBakey High School for Health Professions, No. 91 (down from No. 75 last year).
• Austin ISD's Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders, No. 97 (up from No. 142 last year).