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5 Best Middle Schools in Dallas



Middle school can be a transformative time for kids as they prepare themselves for a high school curriculum. There are many outstanding middle school in Dallas, but we wanted to check out which ones are the highest performing.

After researching the best middle schools in Dallas we now have the concrete proof just how great they are. For our first ranking in our school district series, we’ll show you how we calculated the Texas Education Agency’s metrics from the most recent report (2014) to rank each school that met their standards. While the TEA Index is pretty comprehensive, Frog Tutoring decided to evaluate a couple additional factors in the study we found. The following methodology was used in calculation:
  • STAAR Expectations (48%): When taking the STAAR test into consideration, we look at the percentage of students who met or exceeded the expectations of the test in a given year.
  • TEA Index (48%): We utilized the Texas Education Agency’s 4 areas of academic excellence, which consist of Student Achievement, Student Progress, Closing Performance Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness.
  • Class Size (2%): Student-to-teacher ratio is important for an individual’s learning, so we took this into consideration.
  • Online Reviews (2%): We have weighted each school’s popularity score based on Facebook reviews, Greatschools.org reviews, and K12.Niche.org reviews.

If you’d like to see a more in-depth look at the TEA’s metrics for accountability standards, please click here. To determine a definitive ranking for the top middle schools in Dallas, we combined these 7 factors to create one number to compare and contrast the success of each middle school.

Are you ready to take a look at the best middle schools in Dallas? Let's go!

1. Ewell D Walker Middle
Ewell D Walker Middle is number one on our list with a TEA rating of 208. It’s STAAR expectations met are the highest at the middle school level with 65% of its students meeting or exceeding standards. Although the class size of the school is 21 students, that doesn’t mean these students aren’t getting the attention they need. Ewell D Walker has also earned distinctions in Science, Social Studies, and Postsecondary Readiness to name a few. 

2. Raul Quintanilla Sr Middle
Raul Quintanilla Sr Middle is number two on our list with a TEA rating of 177. It’s STAAR expectations met are the highest at the middle school level with 60% of its students meeting or exceeding standards. The average class size of the school is 16 students, which means every student is getting the attention they need. Raul Quintanilla Sr Middle has also earned distinctions in Mathematics, Science, and Top 25% Student Progress. 

3. Benjamin Franklin Middle
Benjamin Franklin Middle is number three on our list with a TEA rating of 189. It’s STAAR expectations met are the highest at the middle school level with 56% of its students meeting or exceeding standards. The average class size of the school is 18 students, which means every student is getting the attention they need. Benjamin Franklin Middle has also earned distinctions in Science, Postsecondary Readiness, and Reading/ELA.

4. J L Long Middle
J L Long Middle is number four on our list with a TEA rating of 184. It’s STAAR expectations met are the highest at the middle school level with 55% of its students meeting or exceeding standards. The average class size of the school is 20 students, which means every student is getting the attention they need. J L Long Middle has also earned distinctions in Postsecondary Readiness, Mathematics, and Reading/ELA.

5. Zan Wesley Holmes Jr Middle
Zan Wesley Holmes Jr Middle is number five on our list with a TEA rating of 160. It’s STAAR expectations met are the highest at the middle school level with 57% of its students meeting or exceeding standards. The average class size of the school is 19 students, which means every student is getting the attention they need. Zan Wesley Holmes Jr Middle has also earned distinction in Top 25% Student Progress.

Frog Tutoring Dallas Tutors are proud to present the best middle schools in Dallas based on statistics released by the Texas Education Agency. Please share in the comments any personal experience that you have had in the Dallas Independent School District!


Note: We wanted to take a second to explain our methodology, and how we arrived at factoring in each area of success for our rankings. First, we made an extensive spreadsheet (which you can take a look at for yourself here), and collected all of the data that we needed for our results. Then we converted each factor into a percentage and multiplied that number by the percentage of how much it’s worth in our ranking system. Let’s look at an example:

Woodrow Wilson High School’s TEA Index ranking is 235/400.
  • 235 / 400 = 58.75%
  • Since this is 22% of our total, we used the percentage above to measure how much it’s worth in our ranking system. Which in this case is 22% of the total score.
  • 58.75 x .22 = 12.93%
If you’d like to know more about this process, please contact our coordinator, Judith, at judith@frogtutoring.com.
Judith S
Experienced Marketing Coordinator
Texas Christian University
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