The Varnett School - Northeast, Houston TX

Original Research by School Decision on The Varnett School - Northeast

The Varnett School—Northeast is a charter school in the northeast Houston area serving pre-K through 8th grade, located in a mixed-income neighborhood where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is part of the Varnett Public School charter network, which has recently expanded to include middle grades and faced a significant decline in state accountability ratings.

The academic picture is mixed. Texas state testing results show that performance varies considerably by grade and subject. In English language arts, the school performs strongest in 8th grade, where a majority of students met or exceeded state proficiency standards. Middle grades (6th and 7th) also showed solid performance. Earlier grades tell a different story: 3rd and 4th graders showed much lower proficiency rates in both ELA and math. In math overall, proficiency is weaker than in ELA across most grade levels, with even the higher-performing 6th grade still showing gaps. Science and social studies results, available only for 8th grade, show strength in science but notably low performance in social studies. One limitation: the data shows only the most recent school year, so trends over time are not available, which a parent may want to look into further with the school.

The district's accountability rating dropped from a B rating in 2022 to a C overall for 2024-25, with an F specifically in the student achievement domain. This decline reflects the academic patterns seen in the test data and signals weakening measured performance across the Varnett network's campuses. Parents considering this school should understand that all three Varnett locations currently hold a C rating.

The school is small, with under four hundred total students spread across pre-K through 8th grade. The student body is predominantly Hispanic with a substantial Black enrollment. The neighborhood's housing market has declined modestly in recent years, and rental costs remain relatively modest. The school is located in Houston proper, a sprawling car-dependent city without traditional zoning, where neighborhoods blend together gradually. Houston is among the fastest-growing major U.S. regions, with significant ongoing residential construction, though growth is increasingly occurring in suburban and exurban counties beyond Harris County.

A distinguishing feature of Varnett is its recent expansion into middle grades. Historically serving only through 5th grade, the network now operates through 8th grade, with the first cohort of 8th graders having graduated in 2025. This allows families to keep their children enrolled longer rather than transferring out after elementary school.

Among the county's sixty districts, Varnett Northeast's overall proficiency index places it slightly above the midpoint when measured against Harris County districts as a whole. The school has limited specialized program data available, so prospective families may want to ask directly about course offerings, electives, or any special initiatives the campus provides. Participation rates for state assessments were not reported in the available data, which sometimes reflects that the state does not publish those figures for schools below a certain size threshold.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 0% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 37% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 28% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 31% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 33% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 21% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 34% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 37% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 40% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 49% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 28% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 11% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolTHE VARNETT PUBLIC SCHOOL, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income45%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income65%Higher-income75%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income18%Higher-income27%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income26%Higher-income50%24 pp gap