In this article, we at Austin Texas Homes have covered the following:
The public schools in the Austin area vary in their ratings. The Texas Education Agency, or TEA, rates Texas schools using a four-level system. The levels are, from best to worst:
Exemplary
Recognized
Academically Acceptable
Academically Unacceptable
The following table shows the number of schools in each district that received each rating in the year 2006:
District Name | Location | Number Exemplary | Number Recognized | Number Acceptable | Number Unaccept-able |
Austin | Central Austin, North Austin, South Austin, and Southwest Austin | 6 | 23 | 67 | 6 |
Del Valle | Far south and southeast Austin | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
Dripping Springs | Far Southwest of Austin | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Eanes | Westlake Hills area, and to the west of Westlake Hills | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Georgetown | Georgetown, north of Round Rock, far north of Austin | 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 |
Hutto | North of Pflugerville, far northeast of Austin | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
Lago Vista | North of Lake Travis, far northwest of Austin | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Lake Travis | South of Lake Travis, far west of Austin | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
Leander | Northwest of Austin | 3 | 13 | 7 | 0 |
Liberty Hill | North of Leander, far northwest of Austin | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Manor | East Austin | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
McDade | East Austin | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Pflugerville | Pflugerville, northeast of Austin | 1 | 8 | 13 | 0 |
Round Rock | Round Rock, north and slightly northwest of Austin | 8 | 20 | 12 | 0 |
Taylor | North of Pflugerville, far northeast of Austin | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
To make sense of these numbers, we tried to find the "average" rating for schools in each district. To do that, we at Austin Texas Homes have used the following formula:
(Number of exemplary schools x 4) +
(Number of recognized schools x 3) +
(Number of acceptable schools x 2) +
(Number of unacceptable schools) = Number of rating points
Then, we divided the number of rating points by the number of schools. So, for example, the rating for Austin Independent School District looked like this:
(6 * 4) + (23 * 3) + (67 * 2) + 6 = 233
233 / 102 = 2.3
So, Austin ISD's average rating is between the Academically Acceptable and Recognized ratings. Using this system, the school districts can be ranked as follows:
School District | Rating |
Eanes | 3.9 |
Dripping Springs | 3.3 |
Lake Travis | 3.1 |
Lago Vista | 3 |
Round Rock | 2.9 |
Leander | 2.8 |
Liberty Hill | 2.8 |
Georgetown | 2.7 |
Pflugerville | 2.5 |
Austin | 2.3 |
Del Valle | 2.2 |
Hutto | 2 |
McDade | 2 |
Taylor | 2 |
Manor | 1.4 |
Using this system, 3-4 points is between Exemplary and Recognized, 2-3 points is between Recognized and Academically Acceptable, and 1-2 points is between Academically Acceptable and Academically Unacceptable.
For reviews of local schools in Austin, check out www.greatschools.net.
The website www.ceoaustin.org has information on many Austin private schools, as does austinprivateschools.com.
Austin is home to many homeschoolers, and has an active homeschooling community, with many homeschooling groups of religious and secular nature. In fact, my wife and I homeschool our three children.
If you homeschool, or are interested in homeschooling in Austin, the following resources can help you get "plugged into" Austin's homeschooling community:
A Yahoo group for homeschoolers in the Arboretum area of Austin.
Austin Area Homeschoolers Yahoo Group
A large, inclusive group with park days and many other activities.
Austin Area Homeschoolers Website
This website for AAH has information on the group, and also a free guide for those new to homeschooling in Austin.
A part-time school for homeschoolers who want a balance between private school and homeschooling.
A Christian homeschooling group, affiliated with CHEA, a national Christian homeschooling organization.
A Christian, part-time school for the homeschooled. A university model school in east central Austin.
A homeschooling group for those of the Catholic faith, but also inviting anyone else who wishes to be included.
A local library just for homeschoolers! Austin-owned and operated.
An inclusive group of homeschoolers mainly in the Williamson County area.
A group for Christian homeschoolers in the Round Rock area.
A group that attempts to help new homeschoolers get started. Answers questions, leads you to resources, and introduces you to other homeschoolers.
Veritas Academy
Another Christian university model school in southwest Austin.
All statistics come from the Texas Education Agency's website, http://www.tea.state.tx.us/