Smarty Pants

These Austin-area high schools make the grade as best in Texas — and the nation

These are the best schools in Austin.

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KVUE — Austin-area high schools — now is the time to give yourselves a pat on the back. According to U.S. News and World Report, Central Texas is bursting at the seams with academic excellence. In fact, the report said 22 Austin-area high schools spanning across 14 different school districts are nationally ranked.

U.S. News and World Report said they base the rankings on school performance compared to the state, underserved student performance, graduation rates higher than 80 percent, and college preparation.

Below are all of the schools who are excelling in the academic realm, according to the report:

Austin-area schools ranked in top 250 nationally (including public and private)

Meridian School in Round Rock, Texas, ranks as the sixth best high school in the nation, with a score of 100 for college readiness.
Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) ranks as the 16th best high school in the nation, with a 100 percent graduation rate and a score of 100 for college readiness.
Chaparral Star Academy ranks as the 23rd best high school in the nation, with a 94 percent graduation rate and a score of 100 for college readiness.
Kipp Austin Collegiate ranks 53rd in the nation for best high schools, with a 93 percent graduation rate and a score of 93.3 for college readiness.
Westlake Academy ranks 79th in the nation for best high schools, with a 98 percent graduation rate and a score of 87.2 for college readiness.
Richards School for Young Women Leaders ranks as the 117th best high school in the nation, with a 100 percent graduation rate and a score of 83.1 for college readiness.
Westlake High School ranks as the 213th best high school in the nation, with a 99 percent graduation rate and score of 72.4 for college readiness.
Westwood High School ranks as the 221st best high school in the nation, with a 99 percent graduation rate and a score of 72 for college readiness.

Austin-area schools ranked in top 50 in Texas (including public and private)

Meridian School in Round Rock, Texas, ranks as the best high school in Texas.
Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) ranks as the fifth best high school in Texas.
Chaparral Star Academy ranks as the sixth best high school in the state of Texas.
Kipp Austin Collegiate ranks as the 9th best high school in Texas.
Westlake Academy ranks 13th in Texas among best high schools.
Richards School for Young Women Leaders ranks as the 19th best high school in Texas.
Westlake High School ranks as the 40th best high school in the state of Texas.
Westwood High School ranks as the 43rd best high school in Texas.

Austin-area public schools ranked in top 50 in Texas (including magnet and charter)

Meridian School in Round Rock, Texas, ranks as the best high school in Texas.
Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) ranks as the fifth best high school in Texas.
Chaparral Star Academy ranks as the sixth best high school in the state of Texas.
Kipp Austin Collegiate ranks as the 9th best high school in Texas.
Westlake Academy ranks 13th in Texas for best high schools.
Richards School for Young Women Leaders ranks as the 19th best high school in Texas.
Westlake High School ranks as the 40th best high school in the state of Texas.
Westwood High School ranks as the 43rd best high school in Texas.

Austin-area public schools ranked in top 50 in Texas (no magnet or charter)

Westlake High School ranks as the sixth best high school in the state of Texas.
Westwood High School ranks as the seventh best high school in Texas.
Vandergrift High School ranks as the 13th best public high school in Texas, with a 100 percent graduation rate and a score of 64.7 for college readiness.
Lake Travis High School ranks as the 36th best public high school in Texas, with a graduation rate of 95 percent and a college readiness score of 50.7.
Round Rock High School ranks as the 44th best public high school in Texas, with a 100 percent graduation rate and a score of 47.2 for college readiness.
Alamo Colleges — Memorial College High School ranks as the 48th best public high school in Texas, with a 100 percent graduation rate and score of 46.4 for college readiness.

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To read the full story, head to KVUE.

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keep austin healthy

Austin is the 2nd 'healthiest' city in America, Forbes says

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash

There are plenty of places for Austinites of varying abilities to be active.

The city's abundance of yoga studios, health-conscious restaurants, and run clubs is paying off: Austin was just named the second healthiest city in the nation in a new study by Forbes Advisor.

The report, "Cities With The Least Healthy (And Healthiest) Populations, Ranked" examined 2021 health data from the City Health Dashboard for 46 of the most populated cities in America. Eight metrics were analyzed for each city, such as the number of heart disease or opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents, the percentage of adults with diabetes or high blood pressure, among others.

The study focuses exclusively on physical health, and leans on broad risk factors more than the actual occurrence of specific diseases or conditions.

Austin ranked second to San Jose, California, which was dubbed the No. 1 healthiest city in America.

Forbes found that Austin has the lowest percentage of adult high blood pressure out of all 46 cities in the report, at just 22.5 percent. Only 7.4 percent of Austin residents have diabetes, which is the fourth-lowest rate nationwide. The city also boasts the fifth-lowest percentage of adults who smoke (11.3 percent).

Here's how the report ranked four other metrics for Austin:

Eighth-lowest number of heart disease deaths per 100,000 residents (175.5)
Eighth-lowest number of opioid overdose deaths per 100,000 residents (9.6)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report having obesity (28.2 percent)
10th-lowest percentage of adults who report being physically inactive (18.5)

Austin has a reputation for being an accommodating city, whether it's through restaurants expanding their culinary offerings for vegans and vegetarians, or through local organizations adding exercise equipment to outdoor trails. And you can't forget about all the new gyms and country clubs opening around the city.

At the opposite end of the study, Detroit, Michigan landed as the most unhealthy city in the country.

Elsewhere in Texas
Though Austin is one of the healthiest cities in the U.S., and the healthiest in the state, several other Texas cities fell far behind. Houston appeared as the No. 12 most unhealthy American city on the list, and unhealthiest in Texas. The report attributes this to a high percentage of adults who report binge drinking (18.2 percent), smoking (17.2 percent), and more.

"Houston has the seventh-highest percentage of adults who report having obesity (37.7 percent) and the eighth-highest percentage of adults with diabetes (12 percent)," the report said.

San Antonio ranked as the 15th unhealthiest U.S. city, followed by Dallas (No. 18), El Paso (No. 22) and Fort Worth (No. 25). Arlington appeared as No. 30, technically making it the No. 18 healthiest city in the U.S.

The top 10 cities with the most healthy populations are:

No. 1 – San Jose, California
No. 2 – Austin, Texas
No. 3 – Seattle, Washington
No. 4 – San Diego, California
No. 5 – Denver, Colorado
No. 6 – San Francisco, California
No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
No. 8 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 9 – Colorado Springs, Colorado
No. 10 – Minneapolis

The full report can be found on forbes.com.

austin healthy reports rankings