Best Public Schools in Garland, TX

The city of Garland, Texas, is served by 57 public schools, primarily within the Garland Independent School District (Isd), which is ranked in the 58th percentile statewide and includes elementary, middle, and high schools, with a high average free/reduced lunch rate of 78% indicating significant socioeconomic challenges.

The standout schools in Garland are the "Academy for Excellence" campuses, which consistently outperform others. Kimberlin Academy For Excel and Walnut Glen Academy For Excel are both ranked in the 99th percentile statewide, with Kimberlin having the lowest poverty rate in the district at 36.5%. Luna Elementary (95th percentile) and Austin Academy For Excell (93rd percentile) also rank highly. In contrast, schools like Southgate Stem Elementary (16th percentile) and Bussey Middle (9th percentile) struggle, with poverty rates exceeding 93%. The Ignite Community School - Garland charter is the lowest-performing school in the city, ranked in the 1st percentile.

Key metrics show the district's graduation rate averages 92.5%, with Lakeview Centennial High School leading at 95.0% and Naaman Forest High School at 88.6%. The Garland Aec alternative school is an anomaly, spending $155,393 per student with a 1.7:1 student-teacher ratio. A stark finding is the near-perfect inverse relationship between poverty and performance, with top schools averaging ~42% poverty and bottom schools ~92%. Middle school is a critical transition point, as performance polarizes, with Austin Academy excelling while Bussey and others lag. Charter school performance varies widely, with Harmony School Of Innovation - Garland being a top-tier high school (83rd percentile) and Ignite Community School being the lowest.