by Sheila Cox, Five Star Realtor | Updated October 2025
So let me give you the “411” on Katy TX schools. In my 15 yrs of experience, something that is very challenging for people to understand about the Houston-metro area is that some school districts are very large and can have BOTH high-rated AND low-rated schools within the SAME school district. Katy ISD has over 74 schools (and still growing) and Fort Bend ISD (for Sugar Land TX) has over 84 schools! Naturally, with that many schools, some schools are going to be excellent and some may be low-performing. Of course, some school districts are better than others, but a home can be zoned to low-rated schools even if it is in a highly rated school district like Katy ISD. This means that you can’t focus on just a school district in your home search….you need to focus on the individual schools.
Also know that school ratings can and will fluctuate from year to year…generally moving up or down one point each year. Some Katy TX schools stay the same rating from year to year, but most move up or down every year.
NOTE: Niche ranks Seven Lakes High School as the #2 public high school in all of Houston (2026). Seven Lakes HS is also the top-ranking high school in this area/county according to U.S. News and World Report 2025 reviews. Plus, Tompkins HS is now 12th…both ahead of Clements HS in Sugar Land.
Niche is still ranking Katy ISD as be best school district in the entire Houston area (see below).
Source: https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/m/houston-metro-area/
And if you like School Digger, here’s their ratings in 2025, for all Texas school districts. One thing of note…they compare tiny 3-school districts to huge 70+ school districts. It would be more interesting if we could look at just the largest districts.
Source: https://www.schooldigger.com
Another thing to know about Katy TX schools…a neighborhood may be zoned to multiple elementary, middle, and high schools. So you may want to live in large neighborhood like Cinco Ranch, but just know that your home may be zoned to one of eight elementary schools, six middle schools, and four high schools…depending on which part of Cinco Ranch you live. Or if you live in Cross Creek Ranch, the east side is zoned to Katy ISD but the west side is zoned to Lamar Consolidated ISD. So within the same neighborhood, you could be zoned to two different school districts!
Also know that school zones can and will change over time….especially in new home developments. For example, when Tamarron first opened, it was zoned to Katy ISD schools but quickly got rezoned to Lamar Consolidated ISD, due to over-crowding. And if a new neighborhood builds out quicker than schools are added, then you could be rezoned multiple times…and maybe to lower-performing schools than originally expected. So be very careful about choosing homes based on their current school zones! (This is why you need a local area real estate expert, like Sheila Cox, to find the right home.)
Why Schools Are Important – Even If You Don’t Have School-Aged Children
People typically move to the Katy area because of the schools. So even if you do not have school-aged children, you should try to buy a home zoned to highly-rated schools. This is because the Katy TX school ratings can have an impact on long-term home values. And there also seems to be a correlation between the number of sex offenders in an area and the rating of the schools…the lower the school rating, the higher the number of sex offenders. This is important because studies show that a large number of sex offenders is an indicator of higher crime rates and lower property values.
Read more:
>> There Goes the Neighborhood
>> Sex offender data threatening home values
The following map shows the location of registered sex offenders from the Family Watchdog website. It shows that the older areas have higher numbers of sex offenders than the newer areas (which also tend to have higher-rated schools). Seriously, you can almost directly relate the volume of sex offenders in an area to the schools ratings.
Source: https://www.familywatchdog.us
Katy Independent School District
Many people move to Katy because of Katy TX schools and the award-winning and acclaimed school district: Katy ISD (Independent School District). Katy ISD serves over 95,000 students spread over a 180+ square mile area containing 74+ schools. As one of the largest employers in the Katy area, this school district employees over 11,000 people, including 5800+ teachers.
The ACT (American College Test) and SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) scores in Katy schools are above the state and national averages. In addition, most of the high schools in Katy have a 95-98 percent graduation rate.
Why Parents Choose Katy ISD
- Academic Excellence: Test scores and college acceptance rates outpace state averages.
- Diversity of Programs: From STEM academies to fine arts, students have choices.
- Community Engagement: Parents are highly involved in PTAs, booster clubs, and volunteer opportunities.
- Strong Safety Reputation: Schools are modern, well-equipped, and prioritize student safety.
Katy ISD is often compared to an elite private school system—except it’s public and accessible to all residents of the district.
Specialized Academies and Programs
Katy ISD also offers specialized academies within certain high schools:
- Cinco Ranch High School: Engineering Academy
- Seven Lakes High School: Health Science Academy
- Morton Ranch High School: Fine Arts Academy
- Taylor High School: Business Academy
These academies provide focused coursework, hands-on learning, and industry partnerships that give students a head start in their chosen fields.
» See a list of Katy Homes for Sale Zoned to Best Schools
» See Katy ISD Info
» See Katy ISD information for newcomers
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Get Even More Info & Up-To-Date School Lists with Ratings |
Katy Schools Report
If you want the detailed information about the 70+ schools in Katy ISD, then download my Katy Schools Report. This report contains information about school rankings, school zone maps, and a list of all the schools sorted alphabetically…with links to detailed demographic information.
In my report I include a list of ALL the schools, sorted alphabetically. Plus, there are lists for each type of school (elementary, junior high, high school) sorted by rating…so you can easily determine the top rated Katy schools for each type. Then there are school lists by area: Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, and Northeast…so you can narrow your focus more easily.
Each school is linked to detailed school information…so easy to get detailed information on the exact schools that you’re interested in.
Trust me when I tell you that you will LOVE how easy this report makes understanding the schools in Katy ISD.
BONUS: My Katy Schools Report includes the rating scores for 2023, 2024, and 2025…so you can see each school’s progress over time. You can’t get that info anywhere else!
» You can also look at Katy Homes for Sale by School here.
» See Katy ISD Info
» See Katy ISD information for newcomers
More Info:
- Katy Neighborhoods
- Katy Homes for Sale
- Katy Southwest
- Katy Southeast
- Katy Northwest
- Katy Northeast
- Fulshear Homes for Sale
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Sheila is the author of KatyHomesForSaleTX.com – so you know that she knows the area! Winner of Five Star award every year since 2010.
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