Schools in Waco · Waco Independent School District, Midway Independent School District
Waco’s public schools score below 61% of Texas districts
The public schools Waco’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 61% of Texas’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they sit near the middle.
#421Best public schools of 58340%beats similar-income towns
Math proficiency
20%
▼ 17 pts vs TX 37%
2020–21
Graduate on time
78%
▼ 12 pts vs TX 90%
class of 2019
Spent per student
$14.4K
▲ 12% vs TX $12.8K
FY2024
Students per teacher
14.5
TX 14.9 · smaller classes
Schools
60
21,156 students
The School Grade
How Waco compares
B− Test scoresD− Graduation
Texas school districts we grade (1,185)Better than 39%
Lower resultsHigher results
Texas towns with similar household incomes (677)Better than 40%
High confidence. Built on 11,071 tested students and a graduating class of 1,050; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change it.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Texas’s state tests against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown but don’t count. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2019.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids through every district that serves it, weighted by students tested. Tests count 60%, graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are compared with the rest of Texas only. A+ is the top 5%, A the next 10%, A− the next 10%, the B range the next 30%, the C range the next 30%, D the rest.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income, so we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Waco (some depend on your address).
16 schools teach Pre-K in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Bell's Hill El, Lake Air Montessori School, Dean Highland El and Chapel Park El and more.
16 schools teach K in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Bell's Hill El, Lake Air Montessori School, Dean Highland El and Chapel Park El and more.
16 schools teach 1st grade in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Bell's Hill El, Lake Air Montessori School, Dean Highland El and Chapel Park El and more.
16 schools teach 2nd grade in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Bell's Hill El, Lake Air Montessori School, Dean Highland El and Chapel Park El and more.
16 schools teach 3rd grade in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Bell's Hill El, Lake Air Montessori School, Dean Highland El and Chapel Park El and more.
16 schools teach 4th grade in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Bell's Hill El, Lake Air Montessori School, Dean Highland El and Chapel Park El and more.
16 schools teach 5th grade in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Bell's Hill El, Lake Air Montessori School, Dean Highland El and Chapel Park El and more.
5 schools teach 6th grade in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Tennyson Middle, River Valley Middle, Cesar Chavez Middle and Lake Air Montessori School and more.
5 schools teach 7th grade in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Tennyson Middle, River Valley Middle, Cesar Chavez Middle and Lake Air Montessori School and more.
5 schools teach 8th grade in Waco’s district. Which one depends on your address: Tennyson Middle, River Valley Middle, Cesar Chavez Middle and Lake Air Montessori School and more.
The path, start to finish
PK–816 schoolsDepends on your address
85 middle schoolsDepends on your address
9–123 high schoolsDepends on your address
Parts of Waco are served by Bosqueville Independent School District, China Spring Independent School District and La Vega Independent School District.
Two districts serve Waco
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Waco Independent School DistrictGrades PK–12 · 23 schools · 13,376 students
$14,400TX $12,815
DMidway Independent School DistrictGrades PK–12 · 12 schools · 8,824 students
$10,856TX $12,815
ATest scores · 2020–21
How students score
Math · PK–12, Midway Independent School District61%
State average 36.5%
Math · PK–12, Waco Independent School District20%
State average 36.5%
Waco vs. its neighbors
Waco’s schools rank 5th of 7 among the towns that share its borders. School Grade, by percentile among Texas districts.
Every school in Waco
60 schools. Grades are ours, from state tests and graduation. Stars are from neighbors.
Elementary
Bell's Hill El
C+786 students16:1Rate it →
Lake Air Montessori School
C734 students13:1Rate it →
Dean Highland El
D617 students17:1Rate it →
Chapel Park El
532 students15:1Rate it →
Parkdale El
D497 students14:1Rate it →
South Waco El
D490 students18:1Rate it →
Alta Vista El
D−479 students14:1Rate it →
Crestview El
D464 students16:1Rate it →
Cedar Ridge El
D446 students15:1Rate it →
Kendrick El
D446 students14:1Rate it →
Hillcrest PDS Magnet
C+431 students15:1Rate it →
Provident Heights El
C−383 students15:1Rate it →
J H Hines El
D−379 students19:1Rate it →
Brook Avenue El
D−356 students17:1Rate it →
Mountainview El
D349 students14:1Rate it →
West Avenue El
D249 students14:1Rate it →
Challenge Academy
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Challenge Academy
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Challenge Academy
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Challenge Academy
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Challenge Academy
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Challenge Academy
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Challenge Academy
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Challenge Academy
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McLennan Co Challenge Academy
Rate it →
McLennan County Challenge Academy
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Middle
Tennyson Middle
C+963 students16:1Rate it →
River Valley Middle
902 students14:1Rate it →
Cesar Chavez Middle
C−786 students14:1Rate it →
G W Carver Middle
D723 students13:1Rate it →
China Spring Int
A491 studentsRate it →
La Vega J H George Dixon Campus
C441 studentsRate it →
High
Challenge Academy
2 studentsRate it →
Challenge Academy
2 studentsRate it →
Challenge Academy
1 studentsRate it →
Challenge Academy
1 studentsRate it →
McLennan County Challenge Academy
1 studentsRate it →
Midway H S
A2,687 students16:1Rate it →
Waco H S
C1,885 students13:1Rate it →
University H S
B−1,752 students14:1Rate it →
China Spring H S
A959 studentsRate it →
Waco CTR for Youth
D−69 studentsRate it →
Private & other
Harmony Science Acad (WACO)
D569 studentsRate it →
Audre and Bernard Rapoport Academy
D396 studentsRate it →
St. Pauls Episcopal Day School
245 studentsRate it →
Waco Montessori School
205 studentsRate it →
Quinn Campus Public Middle
C269 studentsRate it →
Bill Logue Detention Center
11 students110:1Rate it →
Paul and Jane Meyer Public H S
B−233 studentsRate it →
Premier H S of Waco
D128 studentsRate it →
Methodist Children's Home
D−96 studentsRate it →
Challenge Academy
D−52 students13:1Rate it →
Challenge Academy
1 studentsRate it →
Ceac College Preparatory School
10 studentsRate it →
G L Wiley Opportunity Center
D−98 students7:1Rate it →
Live Oak Classical School
468 studentsRate it →
Valor Preparatory Academy
390 studentsRate it →
Vanguard College Preparatory School
292 studentsRate it →
Bishop Louis Reicher Catholic School
282 studentsRate it →
Eagle Christian Academy
173 studentsRate it →
Parents talk
What Waco families are saying about school.
Parents weigh in
Live in Waco? Is a C+ for its schools right?
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
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In town
Colleges →Colleges in Waco
3 colleges in Waco.
School data: U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts, F-33 school finance). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within Texas. Stars are from neighbors.