Chart toppers — South Texas ISD topped the charts in the 2024 and 2025 State Accountability Ratings. In the most recent ratings, STISD’s score is the highest in Region One and 25th in the state. The district has a San Benito campus. (Courtesy photo/STISD)
Special to the NEWS
The Texas Education Agency (TEA) recently released the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 A-F accountability ratings for school systems and campuses throughout the state.
For both years, the South Texas Independent School District (STISD), which has a campus in San Benito, received an “A” rating and an overall numerical score of 94.
In the 2025 accountability ratings, STISD’s score placed the district with the highest mark in the Region One area and 25th in school districts throughout the state of Texas.
The district received “A” ratings in the areas of Student Achievement, School Progress, Relative Performance, and Closing the Gaps. Also, it earned the Postsecondary Readiness Distinction Designation, the only one available at the district level. STISD has received this designation every year since its inception, a total of 10 times.
Six of the district’s seven middle and high school campuses also earned A ratings overall, including: South Texas ISD Health Professions in Mercedes (Health Professions), South Texas ISD Medical Professions in Olmito (Medical Professions), South Texas ISD Preparatory Academy in Edinburg (Preparatory Academy), South Texas ISD Rising Scholars Academy in San Benito (Rising Scholars), South Texas ISD Science Academy in Mercedes (Science Academy), and South Texas ISD World Scholars in Edinburg (World Scholars). The district’s newest campus, South Texas ISD Virtual Academy (Virtual Academy), earned a “B” rating.
In addition to receiving “A” ratings, three of the STISD campuses also received all distinction designations for which they were eligible, including Preparatory Academy, Rising Scholars, and the Science Academy.
Additionally, last week, U.S. News & World Report released its 2025-2026 Best High Schools Rankings, and all four South Texas Independent School District (STISD) high schools ranked within the top 100 in the state.
South Texas ISD Science Academy (Science Academy) in Mercedes ranked 30th, South Texas ISD Medical Professions (Medical Professions) in Olmito ranked 76th, South Texas ISD Health Professions (Health Professions) in Mercedes ranked 84th, and South Texas ISD World Scholars (now World Scholars, and formerly South Texas Business, Education & Technology Academy) in Edinburg ranked 94th. Nationally, out of nearly 18,000 public high schools ranked in this year’s list, Science Academy ranked 213th, Medical Professions ranked 582nd, Health Professions ranked 649th, and World Scholars ranked 736th.
According to U.S. News, “A great high school educates all of its students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation. The highest-ranked U.S. public schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2025-2026 Best High Schools rankings are those whose students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading, and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores on an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions.”
The six measures that determined each school’s rank and their weights for the 2025 edition are unchanged from last year. These factors include: College Readiness (30% of the ranking); State Assessment Proficiency (20%); State Assessment Performance (20%); Underserved Student Performance (10%); College Curriculum Breadth (10%); and Graduation Rate (10%).
Last week, STISD officials also reported that all students attending STISD schools will eat breakfast and lunch for free during the 2025-2026 School Year, under the district’s second year of participation in the Community Eligibility Program (CEP).
Students will be served breakfast in their first-period classrooms from 8-8:20 a.m. each day, starting on the first day of school, which was Monday, August 18.
Parents/guardians will still need to complete an Income Survey as part of their electronic registration packet in Skyward; however, all STISD students will qualify for free meals.
In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.
Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits.
Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.
To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (AD-3027), found online at: http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form.
To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit the completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
South Texas ISD is a state- and nationally-recognized public school district offering tuition-free college and career-preparation to students from Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy Counties.
The all-magnet district is comprised of seven secondary campuses within the Rio Grande Valley, including four high schools serving grades 9-12 – South Texas ISD Health Professions (Health Professions) in Mercedes, South Texas ISD Medical Professions (Medical Professions) in Olmito, South Texas ISD Science Academy (Science Academy) in Mercedes, and South Texas ISD World Scholars (World Scholars) in Edinburg – two middle schools serving grades 6-8 – South Texas ISD Preparatory Academy (Preparatory Academy) in Edinburg and South Texas ISD Rising Scholars Academy (Rising Scholars Academy) in San Benito – and one stand-alone virtual school serving students in grades 6-12.
For additional information, call 1-800-21STUDY or visit www.stisd.net. For further information about student food services, contact the STISD Child Nutrition Department at (956) 514-4230.
Recent Comments