Texas is moderately ranked in education but faces significant challenges and mixed outcomes across different measures.
- According to WalletHub's 2024 report on the best and worst school systems in the U.S., Texas ranks 29th overall for its public school system quality. It scored well for having the No. 1 digital learning plan but had notably low ranks in teacher certification (29th), pupil-teacher ratio (31st), math test scores (18th), and reading test scores (42nd). Texas also ranked high for negative factors like bullying and dropout rates, making it 8th highest for dropouts nationally.
- In terms of overall state education rankings, U.S. News placed Texas 25th in education in their 2025 Best States rankings. Within this, Texas scored 29th in pre-K through 12 education and 21st in higher education quality. The rankings used 71 metrics overall across multiple categories.
- On a more critical note, WalletHub's 2025 Most & Least Educated States report ranked Texas 41st in overall education, citing issues including a high dropout rate, below-average high school diploma achievement (84% vs. national 88%), and the lowest rank in diploma holders (49th nationally). Texas also shows significant gender disparities in education attainment and below-average university quality ratings.
- Texas school districts have diverse ratings: in 2025, 55% of Texas public and charter school districts achieved a grade of B or higher from the Texas Education Agency, while 15% had D or F grades, showing variability in educational quality across the state.
In summary, Texas ranks in the middle to lower tier nationally for education, with strengths in digital learning infrastructure and some highly rated school districts, yet faces major struggles in dropout rates, test scores, diploma attainment, and educational equity. The state is positioned around the 25th to 41st range depending on the report and focus but clearly has room for improvement especially in K-12 outcomes.
