Best High Schools in Zip Code 78217

Zip code 78217 in San Antonio is home to two high schools within the North East Independent School District (Isd): the large, comprehensive MacArthur High School (serving grades 9-12 with over 2,000 students) and the small, alternative Academy Of Creative Educational (serving grades 11-12 with just 121 students). These two schools offer vastly different educational experiences, making it crucial for parents to understand their distinct strengths and challenges.

MacArthur High School is the area's primary traditional high school, ranking in the 48th percentile statewide. It posts a solid 86.3% graduation rate and performs above the state average in Biology (74.8% proficient) and U.S. History (69.48% proficient). However, a major red flag is its Algebra I proficiency rate of just 33.84%, which is nearly 20 points below the state average and 27 points below the district average. In contrast, the Academy Of Creative Educational is a specialized school for students needing a non-traditional path, but it struggles significantly: it has a 62.9% graduation rate, an 8.0% dropout rate (more than double the district average), and very low test scores, including just 25% proficiency in English II. Despite spending $17,092 per student—$7,594 more than MacArthur—the Academy's outcomes are far weaker, highlighting the immense difficulty of serving its at-risk population.

The key takeaway for parents is that these schools serve completely different missions. MacArthur High School is a middle-of-the-pack comprehensive school with a critical weakness in foundational math, while the Academy Of Creative Educational is a high-cost, low-performance alternative school with a very high dropout rate and no recent state ranking. Both schools have dropout rates above the district average of 2.2%, but the Academy's rate of 8.0% is especially concerning. Parents should carefully consider their child's needs: MacArthur offers a broader curriculum and more typical high school experience, while the Academy is a targeted intervention program with fragile and inconsistent academic results.