Early Childhood Education in Houston

Pre-K and kindergarten enrollment rates rebound in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties after pandemic losses, but Harris County still lags. 

Following sharp declines during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, early childhood education enrollment in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties has not only rebounded but now exceeds pre-pandemic levels. In contrast, Harris County has yet to recover, continuing a decade-long trend of declining enrollment in early education programs.

The data

Texas spends half as much per child enrolled in pre-K than the national average

According to the National Institute for Early Education’s 2023 State of Preschool Yearbook, Texas ranks 34^th in state spending, and as of 2023, the national average of spending per pre-K student was double what Texas spends. Through the passage of HB3 in 2019, an estimated $835 million in additional state funding was provided for early childhood education programs.

Between 2018–19 and 2020–21, Texas significantly increased pre-K spending, with a nearly 50% rise in 2020–21, marking its largest increase since at least 2003. Yet, Texas’ per-child spending remained 40% lower than the national average. This funding gap has widened since 2020–21, with Texas’ pre-K spending per child decreasing by 35% through 2022–23 (latest available as of May 2025) to $4,235—half the national average.

More than 90% of Houston-area pre-K students are enrolled in full-day programs

Is pre-K free in Houston? Texas, like most states, does not offer universal early childhood education. However, children are eligible for free pre-K programs if they are unable to speak and comprehend English, are economically disadvantaged, are experiencing homelessness, or are in foster care. Children from military families are also eligible for free pre-K programs if they have a parent in active military service or who was killed/injured in service or a parent who received the Star of Texas Award.

In Texas, pre-kindergarten operates differently by school district as well. Some districts operate their own pre-K programs, while other districts contract with facilities, such as local child care centers, to provide their pre-K programs.

The number of pre-K programs in the three-county area increased to 617 in 2023–24 from 550 in 2015–16. Since the 2015–16 school year, the number of pre-K programs has continued to increase across the Houston region with the largest increase occurring between the 2019–20 and 2021–22 school years when an additional 35 programs were added. The Houston area has had a net-gain of 67 pre-K programs, an 11% increase since 2015–16.

In 2019, Texas passed House Bill 3 (HB3) which primarily focused on school financing, but it also sought changes to the delivery of early education. It required that all prekindergarten programs offered to eligible four-year-olds must be full-day, and program meet the high-quality requirements set by House Bill 4.

High-quality pre-K for the full day has added benefits over a shorter-day program, particularly for low-income children. Students from low-income families who attended a full-day pre-K program had higher scores on readiness assessments and better attendance.⁸ 

Fort Bend saw the largest gains in full-day pre-K enrollment immediately following the passage of HB3, increasing by 56 percentage points from 19% in 2018–19 to 75% in 2019–20 . Full-day pre-K enrollment has also increased in Harris and Montgomery counties. In the 2023–24 school year, Montgomery County had 100% full-day pre-K enrollment, and Fort Bend County had over 90%, and Harris County had 93%.

Pre-kindergarten enrollment in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties rebound from pandemic losses

Students who attend pre-K can join a public program or a private program. About half of students enrolled in pre-K in Fort Bend, 60% in Harris County, and 57% in Montgomery County attend a public program, according to 2023 American Community Survey data.

A study from the Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC) found that while families considered many factors in deciding whether to enroll their children in pre-K, the distance of the program is among the most influential.

Pre-K enrollment in public schools in the three-county region reached a decade low in 2020–21 when there were 37,606 students enrolled. As of the 2023–24 school year, pre-K enrollment numbers have rebounded in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties but still lag in Harris County and across Texas.

In the past decade between 2013–14 and 2023–24, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties have seen significant growth in pre-K enrollment increasing by 75% and 36%, respectively. Texas has experienced a smaller increase over this period with enrollment numbers increasing by 4%. Harris County experienced a decrease of 15% in pre-K enrollment.

According to the 2023 State of Preschool Yearbook released by the National Institute for Early Education Research, Texas ranks 14^th in pre-K access for three-year-olds and 10^th in pre-K access for four-year-olds among the 50 states. In the 2022–23 school year, 19% of three-year-olds and 58% of four-year-olds living in the state were enrolled in public pre-K programs. This is above the national rate of 17% of three-year-olds and 46% of four-year-olds.

Fort Bend County began offering pre-K to three-year-olds in 2020–21, enrolling slightly over 80 students that year, while Montgomery County had no three-year-olds in pre-K. In 2023–24, three-year-olds comprised 14% of pre-K enrollment in Harris County, compared to 18% statewide. The lack of programs is a lost opportunity, especially for students with special educational needs, English language learner students, and low-income families. A report on HISD schools by the Kinder Institute’s Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC) found that “students who received two years of pre-K education had a greater likelihood of school readiness than those who only got one.”

One way to measure if early education is reaching the intended population is to compare the number of first-grade students who would have been identified as eligible to attend pre-K with the number of students who actually attended pre-K two school years prior. For example, first graders in 2023–24 would have attended pre–K as four-year-olds in 2021–22.

Using the 2023–24 first-grade student data to determine pre-K eligibility, 68% of eligible four-year-olds in Harris County were enrolled in a public pre-K program in 2021–22. In Montgomery County, 61% of eligible students attended pre-K in 2021–22, and in Fort Bend that number was 36%.

Following the 2019–20 school year, there was a decrease in the rate of first graders (two years later) who were eligible for and attended pre-K during that school year. This rate went down by 15 points in Fort Bend County, 22 points in Harris County, 13 points in Montgomery County, and 21 points across the state. Between 2020–21 and 2021–22 this rate increased for all geographies except Fort Bend County where it fell an additional 10 points.

The Houston three-county region has a higher rate of pre-K English-language learners compared to the state

Because of eligibility requirements, almost all public pre-kindergarten students at Texas public schools are economically disadvantaged. In the 2023–24 school year, 83% of students enrolled in Texas public pre-K programs were classified as economically disadvantaged.

In the 2023–24 school year, 87% of students enrolled in Houston’s three-county area public pre-K programs were classified as economically disadvantaged, on par with the state. Additionally, 51% of the region’s pre-K public school students were English language learners (14 points higher than the state), and 6% were served by special education programs.

Across Texas, the majority (62%) of children enrolled in free pre-K programs are Hispanic. Black and white children are enrolled almost equally at 15% and 14%, respectively, while 5% of students are Asian American and 3% are multiracial.

A similar pattern exists regionally, but with considerable variations across counties, reflecting their respective racial/ethnic compositions. Given the extent to which race/ethnicity correlates with income and that pre-K programs are targeted to reach economically disadvantaged students, in 2023–24 in the three-county area, 61% of students are Hispanic, 22% are Black, 8% are white, 7% are Asian American, and 2% are multiracial. Consistent with the overall demographic composition of the counties, Montgomery County has a significantly higher share of white children enrolled in pre-K (23%), and Fort Bend County sees a much higher percentage of Asian-American students (21%).

Kindergarten enrollment dips in Harris County but climbs in Fort Bend and Montgomery

Just as pre-K has been shown to have benefits to the child, so has kindergarten. Students who attend high-quality kindergarten enjoy a variety of academic and social-emotional boosts. According to established research, “the years from birth to age 5 are viewed as a critical period for developing the foundations for thinking, behaving, and emotional well-being.”⁹ Furthermore, providing high-quality education prior to students starting the first grade has substantial medium- and long-term benefits. Students are less likely to repeat a grade and are more prepared academically as they get older.¹⁰

In Texas, children who are five years old on or before September 1 are eligible, but not required, to attend kindergarten that year. Kindergarten at a Texas public school may be provided for half a day or a full day at the discretion of the district’s school board.

Kindergarten enrollment declined during the pandemic between 2019–20 and 2020–21, falling by 6–7% in each Houston-area county and the state. Although enrollment rebounded in 2021–22, it has since continued to decline in both Harris County and across Texas overall. As of the 2023–24 school year, Harris County has even fewer kindergarteners than it did in 2020–21—continuing a decade-long trend of decline. Over the past 10 years, Harris County has seen a 15% decrease in kindergarten enrollment, with Texas overall down 8% in the same period.

Fort Bend and Montgomery counties have been experiencing the opposite trend where kindergarten enrollment has steadily grown, not only recovering from pandemic-era losses but also surpassing pre-pandemic levels. From 2013–14 to 2023–24, Fort Bend saw a 17% increase and Montgomery experienced a 20% jump. Notably, this upward trend in enrollment aligns with the population growth these counties have experienced during the same period.

Kindergarten students in the Houston area come from diverse backgrounds

In the 2023–24 school year, of the 73,295kindergarteners enrolled in Harris, Fort Bend, and Montgomery counties’ public schools, nearly 70% were considered economically disadvantaged, with Harris County’s rate being the highest at 71%. Over one-third of students enrolled in the three-county region were classified as English language learners (ELLs) and 10% were provided with special education services. Fort Bend and Montgomery counties have a lower percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged and who are ELLs compared to Harris County. Between 2019–20 and 2023–24, the percentage of kindergarten students in these categories have increased in each county and the state. The share of economically disadvantaged and ELL kindergartens each increased by about 6 percentage points in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.

In the 2023–24 school year, the majority of kindergarteners in Texas public schools were Hispanic (53%), followed by white students (25%).

Across the three-county area, 52% of kindergarteners enrolled were Hispanic, 19% were white, and 18% were Black. Fort Bend County had the largest percentage of Asian-American kindergarteners (20%) in 2023–24 school year, while Montgomery County had the largest share of white kindergarteners (41%). Harris County has the highest percentage of Hispanic kindergarteners in the region at 56%.

Kindergarten readiness rates rebound post-pandemic

Some kindergartners enrolled in the Texas public school system are assessed on the Commissioner’s List of Reading Instruments, an inventory of the skills necessary for continued literacy development. Students must pass all required assessment domains to be considered kindergarten-ready. More than half (52%) of Texas students who took the assessment at the beginning of the year met or exceeded the proficiency cut-off score.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, kindergarten readiness assessment rates were historically lowest in Montgomery County (31% in 2019–20) compared to Harris County (90%) and Fort Bend County (96%). However, during the first full school year of the pandemic (2020–21), assessment rates soared by 53 percentage points in Montgomery County as rates declined in Fort Bend and Harris counties, and statewide. Since then, Montgomery County has maintained the highest assessment rates in the region. Fort Bend County’s assessment rates have recovered to pre-pandemic levels, while Texas as a whole has surpassed them. In Harris County, kindergarten readiness assessment rates still haven’t fully recovered.

During the 2020–21 school year, the share of kindergarten students considered kindergarten-ready increased by 25 percentage points in Fort Bend and Harris counties compared to the prior year, likely due in some part to the significant decreases in kindergarten readiness assessment rates. After the pandemic, kinder-readiness rates rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in Fort Bend County (similar to their assessment rates), and as of the 2023–24 school year, kinder-ready rates are still 15 percentage points higher in Harris County than they were during the 2019–20 school year. Kinder-ready rates between the 2017–18 and 2023–24 school years increased by 5 points in Montgomery County, 14 points in Harris County, and 26 points in Fort Bend County.

Read about educational attainment, academic outcomes, and post-secondary education in Houston

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• Guest Blog: Ending the Inertia of Student Mobility in Houston
• COVID-19’s Ongoing Effect on Students in Greater Houston
• A Path Forward: How Arts Education Helps Student Learning and Well-Being
• Caring for Teachers is Caring for Students: Teacher’s Mental Health
• Using Science and Evidence To Drive Investments in Early Childhood

Funding, Enrollment & Teachers

A thriving public school system requires sufficient funding, robust student enrollment and effective teachers

Student enrollment increased in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties although their per pupil spending continues to lag the state. Teachers across Texas and the Houston three-county region continue to grow more diverse, but teacher turnover rates begin to increase once again. The average base pay for teachers in the Houston region is higher than the state, but public Texas school teacher salaries continue to lag the national average.

The data

School funding is on the rise, but per pupil spending in Houston’s three-county area lags that of the state

How does school funding affect students? Funding is critical for student success. Research has shown high school graduation rates increase by about seven percentage points for all students — and roughly 10 percentage points for students from low-income families — for every 10% increase in per-pupil spending.⁶

In 2023, the U.S. spent around $16,526 per pupil (costs associated with instruction, student support services, and payroll for public pre-K-12 schools), according to the Census’ Annual Survey of School System Finances.

Where does Texas rank in school funding per child? According to the Census Bureau, average per pupil spending in Texas ($12,304) is well below the national average.⁷ Among all 50 states and District of Columbia, Texas ranks 42^nd on this measure (an improvement from its rank as 44^th in 2019).

Furthermore, a 2024 analysis conducted by Houston Education Research Consortium found that 73% of Texas school districts were underfunded during the 2020-21 school year and that a statistically significant relationship exists between district funding gaps and student achievement with districts that have larger funding gaps generally having lower student achievement.

Total Operating Expenditures per Pupil measures the total operating expenditures, divided by the number of students. This measure excludes debt service, construction expenditures, and other capital outlays. It is a key metric as it reflects the level of resources available to support each student’s education.

Total operating expenditures per student⁸ in Texas increased about $1,100 (inflation-adjusted) to $12,754 in 2012-23 from $11,653 in 2005-06 in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars, according to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

Student enrollment grows in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties but stagnates in Harris County

Enrollment refers to the number of students enrolled in public schools (including charters) from early childhood education (pre-K) through 12th grade as of the last Friday in October.

Enrollment in Texas public schools exceeded 5.5 million students in the 2023-24 school year, an increase of 6% since 2014-15. Since the 1987-88 school year, when the Texas Education Agency began collecting data in its current system, public school enrollment in Texas has increased every year—except for a 2% decline between 2019-20 and 2020-21, an effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.⁹

Across the three-county area, 1.1 million students were enrolled in public schools for the 2023-24 academic year, representing a 5% increase from 2014-15. During this period, enrollment in Harris County stagnated, but Fort Bend and Montgomery counties saw significant growth increasing by 23% and 29%, respectively.

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity

Public schools in Texas and in Houston’s three-county region serve a diverse population of students — the majority of whom identify as nonwhite, consistent with the racial/ethnic composition of Greater Houston’s population.

In the 2023-24 school year in Texas, Hispanic students accounted for the largest group of total enrollment (53%), followed by white (25%), Black (13%), Asian-American (5%), and multiracial (3%) students. Among the three local counties, Montgomery has the highest percentage of students who are white (42%), Fort Bend has the highest share of Asian American students (20%), and Harris County has the largest proportion of Hispanic students (56%) making up over half the student population. This reflects the demographic composition of these counties.

Between the 2019-20 and 2023-24 school years, the racial/ethnic composition of students did not change much across the Houston three-county region or Texas with the exception of Montgomery County where the percentage of white students decreased by six points.

Enrollment by Socioeconomic Status

School districts are required to collect and report the socioeconomic status of each student to the Texas Education Agency for purposes of the annual state accountability ratings and for federal reporting. A student who is eligible for free or reduced-price lunch or for other public assistance is classified as “economically disadvantaged.”

In 2023-24, the majority (62%) of students enrolled in Texas public schools were classified as economically disadvantaged. While the share of economically disadvantaged students has grown throughout the three-county area, it remains highest in Harris County at 69%. Harris County’s rate of economically disadvantaged students is higher than the state average (62%), Montgomery County (50%), and Fort Bend County (49%). However, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students has increased slightly faster in Fort Bend (10 points) and Montgomery (9 points) counties compared to Harris County (7 points) between.

Enrollment of Emergent Bilingual Students

Students whose primary language at home is not English and who are not yet proficient in English are classified as emergent bilingual (EB). EBs are a diverse group of students with varying levels of English proficiency. Students classified as EBs are eligible to participate in language assistance programs that help them attain English proficiency and support core academic programs such as English as a second language, dual language, or bilingual programs. Research has shown that participation in enhanced language programs not only helps to improve students’ English language skills, but also helps to improve educational outcomes.¹⁰

The proportion of students classified as EB has grown in our region and across the state since 2014–15. As of the 2023–24 school year, 22% of students in Fort Bend County are classified as EB, 32% in Harris County, 21% in Montgomery County, and 24% across Texas.

Texas replaced the term “English learner” (EL) with emergent bilingual (EB) to emphasize bilingualism as a strength, reflecting  research on the cognitive benefits of learning multiple languages. However, the timing of reclassification to English proficient significantly affects student outcomes. Students who reclassify as English proficient in elementary school typically outperform their peers, including those who were never classified as EB. In contrast, students who remain classified as EB through middle or high school face greater academic challenges.

A report from Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research found a growing share of EB students are not reclassified by the time they enter middle school. Among students who began first grade in 2011–12, nearly half had not been reclassified by the time they began middle school in 2016–17. That rate grew to over 80% for students who started first grade in 2018–19 and entered middle school in 2023–24. This report points to a key change made in 2018 to the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment—the test for students to be classified as English proficient—particularly the shift from an in-person, teacher-administered exam to an online assessment. In 2017, the year prior to the changes, more than half of students passed the oral portion but that dropped to just 7.6% in 2018.

Enrollment in Special Education

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures all eligible children with disabilities receive a free appropriate public education. However, students with disabilities in Texas had not been receiving the services, therapies, and education they require because of a 2004 policy set by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) that capped the percentage of students who could receive special education services at 8.5%, denying thousands of students the support they needed. After a 2016 Houston Chronicle investigation, the cap was banned in 2017. Then in 2018, the U.S. Department of Education found Texas had violated federal law by setting this cap and ordered Texas to create a plan to correct the problem.

Despite this, a 2021 follow-up revealed that the TEA had failed to implement the necessary changes to comply with IDEA. As of 2023, the U.S. Department of Education announced that the Texas Education Agency had fulfilled its obligations as outlined in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. To ensure continued compliance, the Texas Education Agency conducts annual compliance reviews of local education agencies.

Recent data from the Texas Education Agency show the percentage of students served in special education programs has increased since the Houston Chronicle investigation came out in 2016, but remains lower than national averages. In 2023-24, the percentage of students enrolled in special education programs was 14% in Fort Bend County and Texas and 13% in Harris and Montgomery counties. While national 2023-24 data is not yet available, in 2022-23 the national rate was 15%, according to the 2023 Digest of Education Statistics. 

Between 2014-15 and 2023-24, the percentage of students in special education programs doubled in Fort Bend County and increased by 5 percentage points in Harris and Montgomery counties and Texas overall.

Teacher experience in Harris County has improved but still lags the state, which lags the country

Established research has shown that teachers are the No. 1 predictor of student success inside the classroom.¹¹ They are critical and foundational to delivering a high-quality education. Students who have consistent access to excellent teachers have better academic outcomes, are more likely to succeed in future academic work, are more likely to graduate from high school,¹² and are more likely to enroll in higher education.¹³

Teacher Experience

Similar to professionals in other occupations, as teachers gain experience, they become more effective. As teachers have time to master their craft, their students show academic gains. These gains are more pronounced in the first decade of teaching, but extend through the second and third decade as well, and their students also have better attendance and score higher on standardized tests (one measure of learning).¹⁴

Nationally, American teachers had an average of 14.5 years of teaching experience in 2020-21 (most recent data available), well below the 11.2-year average among teachers in Texas for the same year, which suggests teachers in Texas are more likely to leave their profession earlier.

Across the state, average teacher experience did not improve much between 2017-18 (10.9 years) and 2023-24 (11.1 years). While the average years of teaching experience in Harris County remains below the state average, it increased almost a full year between 2018 and 2024 while the average decreased by half a year in Montgomery County during the same time.

Across all three counties and the state, the percent of teachers with five or fewer years of experience slightly decreased between 2017-18 and 2020-21 but then increased as of the 2023-24 school year. More than a third of teachers (36 %) across the state have five or fewer years of experience, with similar percentages across the three-county area. This is more or less the same as the 2018 share of 37%. Among Houston’s three-county region, students in Harris County are more likely to be educated by new teachers than those in Fort Bend or Montgomery counties. Given the size of Harris County, this pushes the overall average for the three-county region above that of the state.

Research also shows that Black and Latino students are most likely to be in classrooms with teachers who are in their first year of teaching or their first five years of teaching (known as “novice teachers”). The Education Trust finds that about 34% of Black students and 17% of Latino¹⁵ students in Texas attend schools with high percentages (i.e., greater than or equal to 20%) of novice teachers.

Teacher Demographics

Students are also less likely to be taught by teachers of color. This is important because being taught by a diverse teacher workforce has benefits for all students, not just those of color, but the benefits tend to be more pronounced for students of color. Students who are taught by a diverse workforce show better academic outcomes, lower suspension rates, and higher graduation rates.¹⁶

Compared to the racial/ethnic makeup of the student body, the teacher workforce in the Texas public school system is far less diverse. While the majority of teachers in Texas are white, diversity is slowly increasing. Between the 2012-13 and the 2023-24 school years, the percentage of white teachers declined from 63% to 53%, while the share of Hispanic teachers increased by 5 percentage points to 30%, and the share of Black teachers increased about three points to 13% in 2023-24. The proportion of teachers in Texas who are Black now match the proportion of students. However, the proportion of white teachers (53%) is still higher than the proportion of white students (25%) and the proportion of Hispanic teachers (30%) is still lower than the proportion of Hispanic students (53%).

Mirroring larger trends in Greater Houston’s diversity, the teacher workforce in Fort Bend and Harris counties is much more diverse than in Montgomery County and the state. Harris County’s teacher workforce was the most diverse in the 2023-24 school year, with 41% of teachers being white and about a quarter of teachers being Black or Hispanic. In Fort Bend County, during the 2023-24 school year, 44% of teachers were white, 29% were Black, and 19% Hispanic. In Montgomery County nearly three quarters of teachers were white although this rate has decreased by 12 points to 73%. Throughout the three-county area, the percentage of Black teachers is twice the 11% state average.

Supporting Teachers

In order for teachers to gain the experience to become more effective, they need support to remain in the profession. Over the past few years, teacher shortages have been a growing concern as educators leave the profession.¹⁷ National estimates prior to the pandemic show that between 19% and 30% of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years.¹⁸ Attrition rates in urban-area and high-poverty schools are higher than average.¹⁹ And this trend appears to be continuing with estimates that across the U.S. in 2024 about 1 in 8 teaching positions were either unfilled or filled by teachers not fully certified for their roles. Teacher turnover rates can provide an indication of the challenges school districts face to replace teachers who may have left the profession or gone to another school district or private schools.

The teacher turnover rate in Houston’s three-county region and in Texas overall improved between 2018 and 2021, but by 2024, it had risen above 2018 levels. Across Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery counties the turnover rate is the same at about 19%. The trends seen in turnover rates across the three-county region match what has occurred at the state level where in 2024 the teacher turnover rate was also 19%.

Many reasons have been given for this trend,²⁰ including the teacher “pay penalty” which shows that public school teachers earn 27% less in weekly wages than nonteacher college graduates—significantly higher than in 1996 when school teachers were earning 6% less than their similarly educated peers not in the teaching profession. Other research shows the gap widens as teachers remain in the profession.²¹ Teacher shortages are largely driven by attrition, with an estimated 90% of vacancies every year being due to teachers leaving the profession. This indicates that increased efforts in teacher retention could help combat workforce shortages. Texas House Bill 2, passed in 2025, allocates an additional $8.5 billion in funding for public schools with estimates that about half will go towards teacher and staff pay and retention.

The Texas Education Agency determines minimum salary schedules for public school teachers statewide. For the 2025-26 school year, the minimum salaries for teachers across Texas ranged from $33,960 for first-year teachers to $55,030 for teachers with 20 or more years of experience. After factoring in education and experience, Texas public school teachers earned 24% less in weekly wages than similar college graduates in 2023—lower than the national average of 26.6%

Controlling for inflation, it is estimated that the average Texas public school teacher salary decreased by 9% from 2009-10 to 2023-24. In 2022-23 the average salary of a public school teacher was $60,716 in Texas and continues to lag the national average of $69,597.

Within Houston’s three-county area, the average base salary is about 7% higher than the state average. Fort Bend County offered the region’s highest average base pay during the 2024-25 school year at $69,674per year. Harris County’s average base pay for teachers is nearly on par with Fort Bend County’s at $68,728 with Montgomery County slightly lagging at $65,140.

Stress is also a contributing factor teachers cite for leaving the profession.²² The 2024 State of the American Teacher Survey from RAND Corporation found that about twice as many teachers reported experiencing frequent job-related stress or burnout compared with comparable working adults. One of the main factors for beginning teachers to leave within the first year is lack of adequate support from school administration, including training.²³ In fact, new teachers who receive little preparation and training are two and a half times more likely to leave after one year.²⁴ A 2025 Gallup poll found that teachers are more likely to be satisfied with their workplace if they also report that they have “the opportunity to do what I do best every day,” “satisfaction with workload,” and “satisfaction with level of pay.” While smaller class sizes can increase student performance, they also affect teacher stress.

The ratio of students to teachers in Houston’s three-county area decreased slightly between 2021 and 2024 while it increased slightly across the state. The National Center for Education Statistics shows the national average of 15.4 in fall 2022 (the most recent available), at which point the ratio in Texas was 14.8. While this ratio has slightly decreased in Harris and Montgomery counties it increased in Fort Bend County from 15.4 students for every teacher in 2021 to 16.2 students for every teacher in 2024. Within the three-county area, student-teacher ratios vary among school districts. In Montgomery County, Willis ISD has the highest student-teacher ratio at 17.3, while Splendora ISD has the lowest at 14.9. In Harris County, the lowest student-teacher ratio is in Pasadena ISD at 13.1 and the highest in Crosby ISD at 17.1. In Fort Bend County, the student-teacher ratio is higher in Fort Bend ISD at 16.4 compared to Needville ISD at 14.4.

Continue reading about education in Houston on our educational attainment, academic outcomes and post-secondary education pages

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• Ending the Inertia of Student Mobility in Houston
• COVID-19’s Ongoing Effect on Students in Greater Houston
• Caring for Teachers is Caring for Students
• The Costliest Problem We Know How to Fix
• Using Science and Evidence To Drive Investments in Early Childhood

Academic Outcomes

How well students perform throughout elementary, middle and high school has profound effects on other important areas of their lives

Academic outcomes for students in Houston’s three-county region have suffered since the pandemic, and they weren’t that great to begin with. Students of color and from low-income households have experienced the greatest disparities and declines.

The data

Learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic

Quantifying and understanding the amount of learning students lost during the COVID-19 pandemic is a complex undertaking and cannot be measured by performance on standardized testing alone — regardless of whether a student attended school in-person or remotely.

Not only have students been navigating the risk of infection and illness, but also they have faced evictions, household job and income losses, potential loss in healthcare, increased food insecurity, and the ultimate loss — deaths of parents, grandparents, caretakers and other loved ones. All of this has significantly impacted children’s mental health, which most certainly affects their ability to learn.

Early indicators make clear the pandemic disrupted students’ learning, and while billions of dollars in federal aid are currently being spent to accelerate gains and close gaps, the consequences of COVID-19 on education are likely to continue for many years. One study found that this educational disruption “could result in a loss of between 0.3 and 1.1 years of schooling adjusted for quality.”⁴ In Texas, the TEA warned the learning loss could reduce potential earnings for Texas students and cost the Texas economy an estimated $2 trillion. In addition to the overall loss, many educators warn of the “K-shaped recovery” where some students, particularly marginalized students, don’t recover as quickly and gaps in outcomes persist or increase over time.

Finally, it must be recognized that while the pandemic worsened many educational inequalities, it did not create them. Addressing the root-causes of educational inequalities will necessitate long-term and sustained investments in neighborhoods and communities around the Houston region over many decades to eliminate the systemic inequities that have become entrenched.

STAAR third-grade reading scores dip five points after pandemic

Third grade has been identified as important to reading literacy because it is the final year children are learning to read, after which they are “reading to learn.” Proficiency in third grade reading exams correlates with success in future academic outcomes,⁵ including success in higher-level math coursework,⁶ eighth-grade reading level and college enrollment.⁷ Moreover, research has shown that third-grade students who do not read proficiently are four times more likely to not graduate from high school on time than those who read proficiently.⁸ Analysis from the TEA found that among third-graders who did not meet grade-level-standards in reading, only 5% caught up within two years.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) testing program is based on curriculum standards in grades 3 through 8 (such as reading, writing, mathematics) and in core subjects typically taken in high school (such as history, science, social studies). Because of disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas canceled STAAR tests in Spring 2020. TEA made the test optional in 2021 for students who were learning remotely—76% of whom still participated. Overall, 88% of students across the state participated in STAAR in 2021 compared to 99% in 2019. Given these anomalies, the 2021 data should be interpreted with caution.

Evidence of the pandemic’s disruption to student learning is indicated in the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations on the third-grade STAAR reading test. From spring 2019 to spring 2021, the percentage of third-graders in Texas who met or exceeded expectations declined by 5.3 points; in the three-county region success rates fell by about five points. Montgomery County saw the smallest decline (1.5 points) in those meeting grade-level standards, while Harris County saw the biggest drop (5.9 points).

Outcomes disaggregated by various demographic and school program characteristics show that almost all groups saw a decline in the share of students who met standards in 2021 compared to 2019. Asian-American, Hispanic, and economically-disadvantaged students saw the biggest declines, ranging between 7.5 and 8.4 percentage points. 

STAAR eighth-grade math and algebra scores take a big hit

Proficiency in eighth-grade math is an important measure to assess student readiness for high school and has been linked to future academic success in higher-level math, which has consequences for college readiness and enrollment.⁹

Eighth-graders who are not enrolled in algebra (roughly two-thirds of eighth-graders¹⁰) take the eighth-grade math STAAR test, while eighth-graders who are enrolled in algebra take the End-of-Course (EOC) exam to assess proficiency.

About one-third of eighth-graders not enrolled in algebra in Texas (34.7%) met grade-level standards in math in 2021. This is 20.2 points lower than in 2019. The percentage of students who met standards fell 24 points in Fort Bend, 20 points in Harris and 14 points in Montgomery County the first full academic year of the pandemic. 

In Houston’s three-county area, all demographic groups saw large drops in the percentage of eighth-graders who met grade level standards in math. Female, Black, Hispanic, and economically-disadvantaged students all saw a decline of 22 percentage points.

Algebra is typically introduced in ninth grade and is an indicator of future academic success.¹¹ However, students who take algebra in eighth grade are more likely to attend and complete college.¹² About one-third of eighth-graders in Texas enroll in algebra, which is roughly 10 percentage points higher than the rate in 2014, according to the Texas Tribune.¹³ Results for students who took algebra in 2021 are below. These results include anyone who took the Algebra End-of-Course (EOC) in eighth or ninth grade.

About 44.6% of students in Houston’s three-county region who took Algebra EOC exams in 2021 met or exceeded state standards — a 16.6 percentage-point decline from 2019. A larger share of students in the Houston area have met algebra standards than the Texas average. Prior to the pandemic, students in Fort Bend County had the highest success rates in the region, but in 2021, students from Montgomery County out-performed.

Each student group who took the Algebra EOC met or exceeded standards at a higher rate than their peers within the same county who took the eighth-grade math STAAR. This is true at every level of geography, except Montgomery County, where students who took the Algebra EOC met state standards at lower rates than their counterparts who took eighth-grade math STAAR exams. This variance is likely because students who take algebra are further along in their academic learning, either because they are in ninth grade, or because they are ready for higher-level mathematics.

High school graduation rates in the region tick up as they decline in the state overall

Graduating from high school in four years is correlated with many positive future educational and life outcomes, as a diploma is a minimum requirement for most well-paying jobs and higher education. People with high school diplomas are less likely to rely on public assistance and interact with the criminal legal system, and are more likely to pursue higher education and have higher earnings.¹⁴

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the graduation rate for the Class of 2019 averaged 86% for the nation and 90% for Texas, placing the state eighth among 50 states and the District of Columbia. The TEA reported the graduation rate for the Class of 2020 remained unchanged from the previous year at 90%.¹⁵

The high school graduation rate among the Class of 2020 in Houston’s three-county region was nearly 90%. The gap between the state’s and the region’s graduation rates has narrowed since 2011, when the three-county region’s graduation rate was 6.2 percentage points below the state overall. Harris County has had consistently lower graduation rates than the state as well as Fort Bend and Montgomery counties, though that gap has narrowed. Harris County’s graduation rate increased to 88.4% in 2020 from 83.8% in 2011; Fort Bend and Montgomery counties also increased their rates over the last decade, but with smaller gains relative to Harris County.

As with most educational outcomes, high school graduation rates vary by demographic characteristics and program. This is partly because of discriminatory practices that have existed since the nation’s founding (such as redlining), exacerbated by present-day disparities (i.e., poverty, disinvestment in public schools).

Among the Class of 2020 within their respective counties, men had slightly lower graduation rates than women; economically-disadvantaged students had lower graduation rates than their more economically secure peers; and students with disabilities or who were learning English had the lowest graduation rates.

High school dropout rates in the Houston area vary by county

Given the importance of high school graduation for later educational and life outcomes, it is unsurprising that dropping out of high school has consistently been linked with negative life outcomes. Students who leave high school without a diploma are more likely to be unemployed, to earn less than those who graduate, to be on public assistance, and to become involved in the criminal legal system.¹⁶ On average, a person who drops out of high school can expect to earn about $330,000 less over their lifetime than someone with a high school diploma only.¹⁷

Studies suggest that dropping out of school is the outcome of a dynamic and cumulative process of disengagement. Common reasons include missing too many school days, failing too many classes, not being engaged in school, and having family obligations. The key to reducing the dropout rate is to pay attention to all signs of disengagement and intervene at an early stage.^18,19

The high school drop-out rate in Texas has hovered around 5% over the past decade. Dropout rates are consistently highest in Harris County, though they have improved to 7.3% in 2020 from 8.7% in 2011. Dropout rates in Fort Bend and Montgomery counties are relatively similar, about 3%. Nationally, the high school dropout rate has declined from 8.3% in 2010 to 5.1% in 2019, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

High schools in the three-county region are less likely to graduate Black and Latino students, which is why we see higher dropout rates among Black and Latino students than their white peers. This is partly because these students are five times more likely to attend a high-poverty school than white students,²⁰ resulting in unequal educational experiences.²¹

Among the Class of 2020, men dropped out at slightly higher rates than women; students classified as economically-disadvantaged dropped out at higher rates than their higher-income peers; and students with disabilities or who were English language learners had the highest dropout rates. 

Post-secondary Education

The continued shift to a knowledge-based economy means the best opportunities for job prospects and upward mobility will require education and training beyond high school

Rates of college readiness and enrollment in the region are stagnant or in decline, and not enough Houston-area students earn post-secondary credentials after high school. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have only exacerbated challenges in higher education, particularly among students who have been historically underrepresented, such as Black, Indigenous, and other people who have been historically marginalized.

The data

Before getting into the data about readiness, enrollment and completion, it is helpful to clarify exactly what is post-secondary education. In the simplest terms, any education or training that goes beyond traditional high school coursework is considered post-secondary education. Common post-secondary options include four-year universities, two-year community colleges, trade schools, and apprenticeships.

College readiness rates in the Houston region ticked up … and then back down

College readiness/preparedness refers to the cumulative knowledge and skills a high school graduate is expected to have upon entering higher education. It is commonly measured by GPA, participation in advanced coursework such as Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB), as well as performance on state-standardized tests or college entrance exams such as the SAT or ACT.

However, many freshmen who enroll at public Texas colleges and universities are placed into developmental (also known as remedial or pre-college) courses, a determination based on these and other test results. These courses do not typically earn college credit toward degrees but are usually required before students can begin college-level coursework. 

National data show this obstacle is shared by more than a third of students nationwide.¹ Students who are required to spend one to two years in developmental education before beginning college-credit-level coursework are less likely to graduate with a degree or certificate, and if they do, take significantly longer.² Other studies show that when colleges consider multiple measures (such as GPA, time between high school and college, or the number of courses on the subject a student has taken) to determine college readiness, students who would have been originally placed in developmental education but take college-level coursework immediately (or simultaneously), their academic outcomes are better than if they only enrolled in developmental coursework, which calls into question the need for developmental education.³ 

The Texas Education Agency offers a composite measure of College-Ready graduates that reflects the percentage of high school graduates who have met at least one of five criteria: (1) meeting the college-ready criteria on the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment (ELA/reading and math), SAT, ACT, or by successfully completing and earning credit for a college prep course; (2) earning a minimum of dual course credit hours; (3) passing at least one AP or IB exam; (4) earning an associate’s degree while in high school; or (5) earning OnRamp course credits.

The share of high school graduates in Texas classified as college-ready by these criteria has ticked up over the last three years. The state average increased from 50.0% in 2017-18 to 53.4% in 2019-20.

In 2019-20, Fort Bend County had the highest share of high school graduates in the region who were designated as college-ready at 56.7%, though this rate has declined for two consecutive years from 60.4% in 2017-18. The share of high school graduates who were classified as college-ready in Harris County ticked up between 2017-18 and 2018-19 but then dipped to 51.4% in 2019-20 — essentially unchanged over the three years. The share of college-ready high school graduates in Montgomery County was essentially flat from between 2017-18 and 2018-19 but then dipped to 54.3% in 2019-20. 

SAT/ACT

For decades, the SAT (founded in 1926 and formerly known as the Scholastic Assessment Test) and the ACT (founded in 1959 and formerly known as American College Testing) have been used by four-year colleges and universities to inform admissions and scholarship decisions. However, in recent years, these tests have been less emphasized amid academic and legal claims that they are unfair to low-income, Black, Latino, and other students of color. In Texas, the COVID-19 pandemic affected the availability of test-taking opportunities to such a degree that many universities adopted “test-optional” policies for 2021 and 2022, with some extending the policy into 2023. While their popularity in admissions decisions may be in decline, these tests continue to be used to evaluate the level of academic preparedness of students.

More than 400 school districts across the state participate in SAT School Day — when students can take the SAT on their high school campus during the school day, rather than on the weekend, which is typical — at least once in the last five years. TEA has a contract through 2024-25 with the College Board, which administers the test, to negotiate a statewide rate for each exam at a discount.

Texans are much more likely to take the SAT than the ACT. According to the College Board, nearly 225,700 graduates from Texas public and private high schools in 2020-21 took the SAT compared to 89,000 who took the ACT. Texas ranks 10th nationwide for SAT participation rate (59%) but 29th for ACT participation rate (23%).

Regionally, the highest participation rate among graduates in 2019-20 (85.7%) was in Harris County, while the highest percentage of examinees who were at or above criterion⁴ was in Fort Bend County (51.3%). Between 2017-18 and 2018-19, the percentage of graduates who took either the SAT or ACT increased the most in Montgomery County (from 63.7% to 70.7%, respectively). The share of graduates who scored at or above criterion in 2019-20 was lower than that in 2017-18 in Harris and Montgomery counties.

Participation rates vary considerably by gender, racial group and socioeconomic status. The combined SAT and ACT participation rate among public high school graduates in Texas in 2019-20 was 77% — the highest in the past decade, according to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).

While SAT/ACT participation rates in Texas public schools were above 70% for most demographic groups, the share of test takers who achieved at or above criterion greatly varied by group. As with most racial/ethnic disparities in education, this is partly because of discriminatory practices that have existed since our nation’s founding (such as redlining and segregation), exacerbated by present-day imbalances (i.e., poverty, disinvestment in public schools).

Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment

All students who enroll in public colleges and universities in Texas for the first time must take the Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Assessment unless they scored above a certain threshold on the ACT, SAT, or STAAR End-of-Course (EOC) exams; have military experience; are transferring from another higher education institution; or are enrolling in a certificate program that can be completed in less than a year.

Students who take the TSI Assessment must meet minimum standards in the area of mathematics, writing and reading, which indicate they are prepared for freshman-level college coursework. Students who do not meet the benchmark on the TSI Assessment must work with an academic advisor and develop a plan to become classified as “college ready.”

About 61.5% of Texas high school graduates in 2018-19 who took the TSI Assessment met or exceeded the TSI college-ready criteria in all areas, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB). 

Success rates in the three-county region on the TSI Assessment parallel that in Texas overall. About 65.0% of graduates in the region met or exceeded minimum standards on the TSI Assessment in 2018-19. Pass-rates are highest in Fort Bend County (72.6%) and lowest in Harris County (63.1%)

Significant disparities can be found in the TSI Assessment success rates across race/ethnicity — ranging about 40 percentage points — and little has been done to close the gap over the past few years. This trend, sometimes referred to as the achievement gap, is actually an opportunity or access gap; it is is primarily an extension of the extreme pre-existing differences in the delivery of pre-K through 12th grade education and its resulting disparities in academic outcomes.

College enrollment rates directly from Texas high schools have not grown in recent years

College enrollment in the U.S. has been in slight decline over the last decade, even prior to the pandemic. About 1% fewer students enrolled each fall between 2011 and 2019, resulting in a 10% decline in the number of students enrolled in all U.S. colleges, according to estimates from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.⁵ COVID-19 only accelerated that downward trend. Fall enrollment fell by 2.5%, or 461,000 students, between 2019 and 2020, and then declined 2.7% (476,000) in 2021. The result is a 14.3% decline in enrollment in higher education since 2011 — a loss of nearly 3 million students.

For public colleges and universities in Texas, the most recent data available at publication is for graduates in 2018-19. However, the downward trends are here as well. Between fall 2013 and 2019, the percentage of high school graduates enrolled in Texas public higher education institutions each year has declined from 50.2% to 47.1%, respectively. Because students who go out-of-state or attend private universities are not trackable in this data set, this figure tells only part of the full college-going story. THECB estimates that about half of high school graduates are not tracked or identified in Texas’ public higher education system, suggesting they do not enroll, enroll out-of-state, or attend a private institution.

Between 2013 and 2019, the percentage of high school graduates in Texas who enrolled in Texas public four-year universities remained relatively flat at around 20%, while the percentage of those enrolled in Texas two-year colleges dropped from 30.0% to 26.5%.

In Houston’s three-county region, nearly 72,700 public high school students graduated in 2018-19, and 45% continued on to a Texas public higher education institution in the fall of 2019. About 56% of public school high school graduates in Fort Bend, 44% in Harris, and 43% in Montgomery County enrolled in a public 2-year college or public 4-year university in Texas immediately after high school graduation. College enrollment rates in 2019 at both types of higher education institutions were lower from high schools located in Harris and Montgomery counties compared to Texas overall.

College enrollment by race/ethnicity is available only at the state level. Texas high school graduates who identify as Asian American enroll in the state’s public four-year universities at the highest rate (43.6%) and in two-year colleges at the lowest rate (19.6%) compared to other racial/ethnic groups. Hispanic students enroll in two-year colleges at the highest rate and enroll in four-year universities at the lowest rate followed by Black high school graduates.

Note: Educational outcomes vary significantly within the “Asian” category as the term includes a group of people who descend from about 50 different countries with distinct political and immigration histories. For example, according to a 2021 report from the Pew Research Center, 75% of Indian Americans have a bachelor’s degree, while only 16% of Laotians and 15% of Bhutanese do.

The share of Texas high school graduates who applied to in-state public four-year universities the fall semester immediately following high school graduation has remained relatively flat over the last few years. Between 2013 and 2017, the application rate steadily increased a little more than two percentage points, after which it declined slightly to 34.4% in fall 2019.

Similarly, the college admission rate for this population ticked up in 2019 to 30.2% from 28.5% in 2013 . However, the percentage of college applicants who were accepted to a four-year in-state public university but did not enroll also increased from 8.5% to 10.3% during the same time period. Several factors contribute to a high school graduate’s decision to not enroll in a higher education program to which they have been accepted. Students may opt to attend a different higher education institution such as community college, a private university, or somewhere out of state, or to not enroll entirely — a phenomenon known as “summer melt.” Research shows that access to financial aid is among the largest factors that contribute to “summer melt,” and that targeting interventions for students who come from low-income backgrounds or racial/ethnic groups that have been historically underrepresented and under-supported in higher education could have the most significant impact.^6,7,8 

Low graduation rates from colleges in Texas creates wide-ranging costs for the region

Completing college with a degree or certificate is important for both individuals pursuing higher education and the region at-large. Students who finish college are more likely to work in jobs that earn adequate wages and provide benefits, and actively contribute to their communities civically.⁹ Moreover, when students leave college without completing a degree, they are saddled with the debt that most students accumulate without the wage premium benefit that higher education degrees typically provide. This double-negative situation where costs increase without improvement in earnings leads to a higher likelihood of defaulting on student loans, which jeopardizes future earnings, job and housing prospects; damages credit history and limits the ability to borrow money in the future; and hinders overall economic mobility and prosperity.¹⁰

Nationally, 45% of students who enroll full-time in a four-year university for the first-time graduate within four years and about 63% graduate in six years (150% of normal time), though graduation rates at private nonprofit universities tend to be higher than at public universities. At two-year colleges, 33% of similar degree-seeking students finish with a credential within 150% of normal time, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

The following data shows the number of high school students who received a degree or credential from a public Texas four- or two-year college within eight years of their high school graduation. These data should be interpreted differently from the aforementioned national graduation rates: The national graduation rate is representative of the overall number of students who enroll in college whereas the Texas-related data below is representative of the number of graduating public high school students. It is for this reason the Texas “completion” rates are significantly lower than the national rates and should not be compared.

About 19% of students who graduated from a Texas public high school in 2013 (the most recent year for which there is complete data) received a degree from a public in-state four-year university within eight years of their high school graduation. Nearly 9% of high school grads completed their degree within four years or fewer (normal time). An additional 6% took five years, and 3% more took six years (150% of normal time) to finish a “four-year” degree.

About 10% of students who graduated from a Texas public high school in 2013 (the most recent year for which there is complete data) received a degree or certificate from a public in-state two-year college within eight years. About 2% of high school grads completed in fewer than two years (normal time) after high school graduation and an additional 4% completed a credential after three and four years (150%-200% of normal time). The traditional mission of community colleges is different from four-year universities as students typically hope to transfer from a two-year college to a four-year university, and they may or may not receive a credential on that path.

Learn about student mobility and its effect on educational attainment.

Too few eighth graders earn a college credential by the time they turn 25

Tracking the educational progress of eighth-graders who attend Texas public schools shows that a small share ultimately received a college credential from a Texas higher education institution within six years of their projected high school graduation date, or by the time they are 25 years old.

Among Texas students who started eighth grade in 2008, nearly 80% graduated from high school, about 50% enrolled in a university or college in Texas, and less than a quarter graduated with a post-secondary degree.

What about the progress of Houston-area public school students going to college in Texas? Outcomes in Houston’s three-county region closely mirror that in the state. Nearly 69,800 eighth-graders were enrolled in Houston’s three-county region in 2008-09: about 7,400 in Fort Bend; 55,900 in Harris; and 6,400 in Montgomery.

Nearly 78% of Houston-area eighth-graders graduated from high school, 53% enrolled in higher education within the state, and 23% received a post-secondary credential. Students who live in Fort Bend County have had better outcomes than those in Harris or Montgomery counties. While students in Fort Bend County public schools have only a slightly higher high school graduation rate than the state average, they graduate from college at nine percentage points higher than the state rate (32% compared to 23%). Outcomes for students in Harris County, the most populous county in the state, are the lowest in the region.

Texas institutions award more degrees and certificates

To address this challenge of college completion, the second goal of 60x30TX is for the state to graduate 550,000 students annually from a higher education institution in Texas by 2030. THECB has set different benchmarks for different regions of the state. Since 60x30TX started in 2015, there has been a 2.3% annual increase in the number of Certificate, Associate, Bachelor’s, and Master’s (CABMs) degrees completed at all four- and two-year colleges in Texas in the public, independent and career sectors. While this represents progress, the number of CABMs must increase by 5.3% each year over the next decade to meet the stated goal by 2030.

Texas institutions of higher education in the public, private and career sectors collectively awarded a total of 348,394 degrees and certificates in 2020 — a 12% increase from 2015. More than 40% were bachelor’s degrees and 28% were associate degrees. Between 2015 and 2020, the number of certificates declined 6%, associate degrees increased 21%, bachelor’s degrees rose 16%, and master’s degrees grew 8%. THECB found that more than a third (36.7%) of the degrees and certificates awarded in 2020 went to undergraduates from economically-disadvantaged households.

Too few high school graduates are classified as prepared for a career or the military

Beyond the focus of college-ready graduates, the TEA also measures College, Career, or Military Readiness (CCMR). In 2019 Texas House Bill 3 established a CCMR outcomes bonus, which provides extra education funding to districts to offer students greater access to career opportunities, more advanced career and technical education (CTE) courses and ultimately further the 60x30TX goal that every child is prepared for success in college, career or the military. A graduate is considered CCMR if they meet at least one of eleven criteria, including one of the five college-ready criteria or one of the six career or military readiness criteria.

Of the 360,000 Texas public high school graduates in 2019-20, 227,000 (or 63.1%) demonstrated college, career, or military readiness. That was a decline of 10 percentage points from the year before.

The share of graduates classified as CCMR in each county of the region and the state ticked up between 2017-18 and 2018-19 but declined the following year in 2019-20, with the result being lower than the rates in 2017-18. About 63% of high school graduates in the three-county region in 2019-20 were deemed CCMR compared to 73% the year before. This substantial decline results in a slightly lower rate than 2017-18.

Read about foundational academic readiness in early childhood education in Texas.

Career or Military Ready

While most post-secondary outcomes focus on higher education (“college ready”), Texas high schools can help students achieve alternative paths to employment. In 2019, Texas House Bill 3 took into account these alternatives when constructing the CCMR Outcomes Bonus awards.

According to the TEA, a high school graduate is considered career ready if they meet any of the college-ready criteria and earn an industry-based certification, or a level I or level II certificate by August 31 immediately following high school graduation. The graduate is considered military ready if they demonstrate a plan to enlist in the armed forces of the United States by December 31 immediately following high school graduation.

The share of high school graduates who were designated as career or military ready over the past three years had a similar trend to that of college readiness. Students made progress between 2017-18 and 2018-19, but then fell further back in 2019-20. Rates of career or military readiness in each of the greater Houston region’s three counties and the state overall in 2019-20 were far below where they were the previous year and even lower than they were in 2017-18 (except in Fort Bend, where they are about the same).

In 2019-20, the percentage of high school graduates classified as career or military ready was nearly 10 percentage points lower in Fort Bend County, 20 points lower in Harris County, 18 points lower in Montgomery County, and 22 points lower in Texas overall than they were the year before.

Career and Technical Education Programs

Public schools offer career and technical education (CTE) programs to help students in grades 6 through 12 develop skills, advance to postsecondary education at a technical college in Texas (or four-year institutions), and gain future employment opportunities.

The number of students in grades 6 through 12 who participated in CTE programs in Texas increased 36% to 1.5 million in 2019-20 from 1.1 million in 2012-13. In 2020, 50% of Texas students in grades 9-12 were enrolled in CTE programs. A slightly lower share of students were enrolled in CTE programs in Houston’s three-county region (46.8%) with Harris County having the highest percentage (49%).

Helpful Articles by Understanding Houston:

• Student Mobility: The Costliest Problem We Know How to Fix
• The Impact of COVID-19 on Education
• How Arts Education Helps Student Learning and Well-Being
• Houston is Big
• Is Houston Affordable?

Educational Attainment

An indicator correlated with many life outcomes, educational attainment profoundly affects individual and regional prosperity

Though the average Houstonian has more education than they did 10 years ago, significant disparities across race/ethnicity persist.

The data

Low Educational Attainment Hurts Economic Prosperity

What does educational attainment mean? Educational attainment refers to the highest level of education an individual has completed. As the shift continues toward a knowledge-based economy, higher levels of educational attainment have become increasingly important to social mobility.¹⁰ This doesn’t mean a bachelor’s degree is always necessary to secure a “good job,” but some kind of education beyond high school (also called post-secondary education) — such as a certificate, credential, apprenticeship, or associate degree — is critical to meeting the demands of the current workforce and to unlock future individual opportunities.

For at least the last three decades, workers with higher educational attainment have the lowest unemployment rates—even during times of economic downturn such as the aftermaths of the Great Recession in 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Additionally, during these economic crises, the unemployment rate tends to fluctuate less for those with more educational attainment. Between 2019 and 2020, the national unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor’s degree increased by 2.7 percentage points while the increase for those without a high school diploma was more than double that with a 6.5-point increase. As of 2024, the unemployment rate across the country for those with a bachelor’s degree was 2.3% compared to 4.2% for those with a high school diploma only and 6.2% for those without a high school diploma. Not only are lower education levels associated with higher unemployment, they are also associated with lower annual earnings and lower lifetime average earnings.¹¹

Educational attainment rates in the region continue upward trend, but with significant racial/ethnic disparities

Educational attainment in Texas lags behind the nation. The state of Texas ranks second to last nationwide in the percentage of residents with at least a high school diploma at 86.3%, compared to the national average of 89.8%. Educational attainment levels in Harris County are lower than the state average, with 83.2% of adult residents having a high school diploma. Fort Bend and Montgomery counties fare better than the state and national averages at 92.2% and 89.7%, respectively.

Texas also ranks low in the percentage of the population over the age of 25 with bachelor’s degrees. About one out of three Texans (34.2%) have a bachelor’s degree or above — placing the state 28th among all states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) — compared to 36.2% at the national level. Nearly half of all adults in Fort Bend County have earned a bachelor’s degree (49.4%), the highest attainment rate in the three-county region. If Fort Bend County were a state, it would rank second in the nation — just behind D.C. (65.9%) and ahead of Massachusetts (47.8%). The proportion of adults without a high school diploma is highest in Harris County (16.8%). Adults in Montgomery County are most likely among the three counties to have some college education without a four-year degree (27.9%).

Educational attainment beyond high school has been increasing, however. Between 1990 and 2023, the percentage of adults without a high school diploma decreased by 14.6 percentage points across the U.S., 14.2 points in Texas, and 9.8 points in the three-county area.

Across the Houston region, the share of adults 25 years and older without a high school diploma has also steadily declined, but gaps remain between counties. Harris County has consistently had the highest percentage of residents aged 25 and older without a high school diploma. While its rate was once below the Texas average, it has surpassed the state since 2000. As of 2023, 16.8% of Harris County adults lack a high school diploma, compared to 13.7% statewide. Still, Harris County has made progress, with an 8.3-percentage-point decrease since 1990. Montgomery County has seen the largest improvement, cutting its rate by 14.2 points to 10.3% in 2023—nearly matching the national average of 10.2%. Fort Bend County, which has consistently had the region’s lowest share of adults without a diploma, also saw significant gains, decreasing by 11.3 points over the same period.

Additionally, between 1990 and 2023, the share of residents with bachelor’s degree or higher saw the greatest increase improving by 19.2 percentage points in Fort Bend County, 8.8 points in Harris, and 19.9 points in Montgomery County. 

Educational attainment rates are unequal across race, ethnicity and gender

Because of a lengthy history of discriminatory practices since the nation’s founding, which have been exacerbated by present-day imbalances, levels of educational attainment in the United States vary greatly by race/ethnicity. The three-county region is no exception, and these disparities are the direct and intended result of harmful policies, compounded over decades and are not related to any group’s intrinsic talents or priorities.

Asian Americans — a group of people originating from about 50 different countries with distinct political and immigration histories — report the highest levels of education at the national, state, and regional levels. However, it is important to note that there is significant variation even within this large population. According to a 2025 report from the Pew Research Center, 77% of Indian Americans and 58% of Chinese Americans have a bachelor’s degree, while only 20% of Bhutanese and 18% of Laotians do. Chinese (22%) and Indian (21%) Americans make up the largest Asian-American origin group in the United States. Comparatively, Bhutanese and Laotians make up about 1% of the population each. This difference contributes to the high levels of educational attainment for Asian Americans in the state.

In Fort Bend County, 43.5% of Black adults have a bachelor’s degree or higher — 17 percentage points higher than the national average for Black adults (26.3%). However, that figure falls to 29.4% in Harris County, a rate on par with that of Texas overall, according to 2023 estimates.

Consistent with national trends, Hispanic/Latino adults in the Houston area report lower levels of educational attainment. In all three counties, Hispanics have the highest proportion of those without a high school diploma at 18.2% in Fort Bend County, 32.4% in Harris County, and 27.4% in Montgomery County . For comparison, the national average is 26.6%.

Because the general terms “Hispanic” or ”Latino” are used to describe a group of people who originate from a wide variety of Spanish-speaking or Latin American countries, and who understand their identity in different ways, the diversity within that broad group can often go unnoticed. Similar to Asian Americans, the educational attainment varies within this broader group. The latest data available from the Pew Research Center shows that 57% of Venezuelans and 46% of Argentines have at least bachelor’s degree compared to 13% of Salvadorans and 11% of Guatemalans.

As educational attainment levels within each racial/ethnic group have increased in the three-county area, so have high school diploma attainment rates. Between 2000 and 20123, the percentage of residents in Fort Bend and Harris counties with a high school diploma increased the most for Hispanics, rising by 26.7 and 25.0 percentage points, respectively. In Montgomery County, Black residents with a high school diploma increased by 24.1 points.

In 2005, for the first time in the nation’s history, women were more likely than men to have an education beyond a high school diploma. By 2023, across the United States, 66.0% of women had some post-secondary education compared to 61.5% of men.

We see the trend of women being more likely to pursue and attain higher education in Houston’s three-county region and in Texas overall.

Across Texas in 2000, women lagged behind men in the share of the population with a post-secondary education. However, by 2010, the share of women in the state with post-secondary education matched that of men. As of 2023, 63.9% of women in Texas have postsecondary education compared to 60.3% of men. Women have continued their progress in postsecondary educational attainment, increasing 14.1 percentage points between 2000 and 2019 compared to an 8.3-percentage-point increase among men. These statewide trends are also seen in Fort Bend, Harris, and Montgomery counties.

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• The Education Gap in Houston
• Ending the Inertia of Student Mobility in Houston
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