Smarty Pants
2 area schools land on Best Public High Schools in America list
It's not just the home to a world-class university; Austin is also home to some pretty impressive high schools. According to a recent ranking by Niche, two local public high schools are among the top 20 in the nation — and they take the No. 1 and 2 spots in Texas.
Niche ranked 14,431 public high schools across the U.S. taking into consideration survey answers from students, parents and recent alumni. In addition to millions of survey results, researchers also graded each school in the following seven categories: Academics, Health and Safety, Student Culture and Diversity, Teachers, Extracurriculars and Activities, Resources and Facilities, and Sports and Fitness.
Westlake High School cracked the top 10 nationally, coming in at No. 7. Though it ranked a little low in the "Student Culture and Diversity" and "Extracurriculars and Activities" categories, Westlake scored pretty much perfectly on everything else, including "Academics," "Teachers" and "Resources and Facilities."
Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Northeast Austin also landed in the top 20, coming in at No. 14. The school received near perfect scores in almost all categories, but its low "Sports and Fitness" grade seems to have pulled down its average.
In Texas, Westlake and Liberal Arts and Science took top honors, coming in at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. Dallas' School for the Talented and Gifted was ranked No. 3.