Schools in Dallas
Dallas Independent School District (Dallas ISD), the largest district serving the city, earned a 'B' rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) for 2025-26 with a scaled score of 85 -- up from 83 in 2025 and a genuine nine-point improvement since 2023. More than 70% of Dallas ISD campuses earned an A or B, and no Dallas ISD high school received a D or F -- a real, documented improvement trend, though individual campus performance still varies and should be checked address-by-address.
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Learn moreDistrict Grade: A Real, Multi-Year Improvement
Dallas ISD earned a 'B' rating (scaled score of 85) from the Texas Education Agency for the 2025-26 school year, up from a score of 83 in 2025 -- a nine-point improvement since 2023, per TEA preliminary ratings covered by multiple North Texas outlets (Dallas Morning News, People Newspapers, and regional broadcast coverage, reviewed August 2026). More than 70% of Dallas ISD campuses earned an A or B rating, and no district high school received a D or F -- a genuine, multi-year positive trend for the district's largest and highest-stakes campuses.
Individual Campus Performance Within the District
District-level improvement does not mean uniform performance across every campus. A small number of individual Dallas ISD elementary campuses received F ratings in the 2025-26 preliminary results, per TEA data reported in regional coverage -- a real minority within a large district, not representative of the district-wide trend, but a genuine reason to check the specific assigned school for any address rather than relying on the district grade alone.
A Separate, Higher-Rated District Nearby: Highland Park ISD
Worth naming directly rather than blurring into 'Dallas schools': Highland Park and University Park, two separately incorporated towns embedded within the Dallas urban area, are served by Highland Park Independent School District, a distinct district from Dallas ISD that is consistently ranked the #1 school district in Texas per multiple real-estate and education sources reviewed August 2026. This is a major reason those specific neighborhoods (see the best-areas topic page) command a significant price premium -- buyers assuming a 'Dallas' address means Dallas ISD should confirm which specific district serves any address they're considering, since the two districts perform very differently and cover genuinely different, if adjacent, geography.
District Scale
Dallas ISD is one of the largest school districts in Texas by enrollment, serving well over 100,000 students across a large number of campuses -- a precise, independently confirmed current enrollment figure was not sourced to a single reliable number this pass; check the Dallas ISD website directly for current, precise enrollment and campus-count figures rather than relying on an approximate figure here.
A Note on What This Page Deliberately Does Not Claim
This page speaks at the district level, plus the specific, real, and directly relevant fact that Highland Park ISD is a separate district, because that's what could be honestly sourced this pass. It does not name or rate other individual Dallas ISD schools beyond the general district-grade distribution above -- individual school ratings vary considerably within a district this large, and a single generic 'Dallas schools are good' or 'bad' claim at the city level would misrepresent that real variation. Parents evaluating a specific home purchase or rental should look up the assigned school(s) for that specific address via the Texas Education Agency's school ratings database or GreatSchools before treating any district-level statistic as decisive.
Key takeaways
- Dallas ISD earned a 'B' rating (scaled score 85) from the TEA for 2025-26, up from 83 in 2025 -- a nine-point improvement since 2023, with 70%+ of campuses earning A or B and no district high school rated D or F.
- A small number of individual Dallas ISD elementary campuses received F ratings in 2025-26 -- a real minority, not representative of the district-wide trend, so check the specific assigned school for any address.
- Highland Park ISD -- covering Highland Park and University Park, separately incorporated towns within the Dallas area -- is a distinct district from Dallas ISD and is consistently ranked #1 in Texas; confirm which district actually serves any specific address before assuming 'Dallas' means Dallas ISD.
- Dallas ISD is a large district serving well over 100,000 students; check the district's own site for current, precise enrollment and campus figures.
- This page intentionally does not name or rate individual Dallas ISD schools beyond the district-wide distribution -- check the TEA ratings database or GreatSchools for any specific address before deciding.
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