The Texas Education Agency released its 2026 A to F accountability ratings on August 14. Fort Bend ISD came back with a B, and its score moved from 80 to 82.
That headline is true, and for a home buyer it is almost useless.
Nobody buys a house in "the district." You buy an address, and that address is assigned to one elementary, one middle and one high school. Inside Fort Bend ISD those campuses ran the full range this year, from A to D. One Sugar Land elementary that held an A a year ago came back with a C. One high school climbed from a C to a B. And three of the Sugar Land campuses that received a 2026 grade had already closed their doors before the grade came out.
So here is how I would actually read these ratings if I were buying in Sugar Land this fall.
Key takeaways
- Fort Bend ISD earned a B for 2026, with its overall score rising from 80 to 82, according to the district.
- 49 of 81 rated campuses earned an A or B: 23 A, 26 B, 21 C, 11 D and zero F, down from three F campuses in 2025.
- 10 of the district's 12 high schools earned an A or B. In Sugar Land, Clements earned an A, and Dulles, Austin and Kempner earned a B, with Kempner up from a C.
- Statewide, TEA rated 1,202 districts and 9,105 campuses, and 85 percent of rated campuses landed at C or better.
- These are preliminary ratings. TEA's appeal window ran from August 12 to September 11, and final ratings are scheduled for December 11, 2026.
- Three Sugar Land elementaries that closed in August still received 2026 grades, so a listing that cites one of them is advertising a school the house no longer feeds.
What the district numbers actually say
The short version: Fort Bend ISD improved modestly, and more of its campuses moved up than down.
Here is the district's own breakdown from its September release.
| Measure | 2026 result |
|---|---|
| District rating | B |
| District score | 82, up from 80 in 2025 |
| Campuses rated A | 23 |
| Campuses rated B | 26 |
| Campuses rated C | 21 |
| Campuses rated D | 11 |
| Campuses rated F | 0 (three in 2025) |
| High schools at A or B | 10 of 12 |
| Middle schools at A or B | 9 of 15 |
| Elementary schools at A or B | 30 of 54 |
The district also reported that 15 campuses improved by at least one letter grade, and that its schools earned 143 distinction designations. Four campuses earned distinctions in every category: Fort Settlement Middle, Garcia Middle, Colony Bend Elementary and Commonwealth Elementary. All four have Sugar Land addresses.
Statewide, TEA said 24 percent of districts and campuses improved their rating over 2025, and 585 campuses moved up to an A.
What the letter grade measures, and what it does not
The letter is a test driven score, not a full picture of a school.
TEA builds the rating from three areas: Student Achievement, School Progress and Closing the Gaps. Achievement looks at how students performed, largely on STAAR and, for high schools, on college, career and military readiness and graduation. Progress looks at how much students grew and how a campus compares with schools serving similar student populations. Closing the Gaps looks at how different groups of students are performing against targets. The overall rating is built mostly on the stronger of the first two, blended with the third.
What it does not measure: class sizes, the academy program your kid wants, arts and athletics, or how a campus supports a child who needs more help. Two schools with the same letter can feel completely different when you walk through them.
One more thing worth knowing. A one year jump is worth less than a campus that has held its letter for several years in a row, because a single year can move for reasons that have nothing to do with what happens in the classroom.
Sugar Land campus ratings, 2026 versus 2025
This is the table I actually care about. These are the Fort Bend ISD campuses with a Sugar Land street address, pulled from TEA's public ratings data behind txschools.gov, with the 2025 rating alongside for direction.
| Campus | Level | 2026 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clements High School | High | A | A |
| Dulles High School | High | B | B |
| Stephen F. Austin High School | High | B | B |
| Kempner High School | High | B | C |
| First Colony Middle School | Middle | A | A |
| Fort Settlement Middle School | Middle | A | A |
| Garcia Middle School | Middle | A | A |
| Sartartia Middle School | Middle | A | A |
| Dulles Middle School | Middle | B | A |
| Sugar Land Middle School | Middle | B | B |
| Colony Bend Elementary | Elementary | A | B |
| Colony Meadows Elementary | Elementary | A | A |
| Commonwealth Elementary | Elementary | A | A |
| Cornerstone Elementary | Elementary | A | A |
| Highlands Elementary | Elementary | A | B |
| Oyster Creek Elementary | Elementary | A | B |
| Settlers Way Elementary | Elementary | A | A |
| Sullivan Elementary | Elementary | A | A |
| Walker Station Elementary | Elementary | A | A |
| Brazos Bend Elementary | Elementary | B | B |
| Drabek Elementary | Elementary | B | B |
| Barrington Place Elementary | Elementary | C | B |
| Lakeview Elementary | Elementary | C | B |
| Townewest Elementary | Elementary | C | B |
A few high schools outside the Sugar Land mailing address also serve Sugar Land homes, depending on the street. Elkins earned a B in both years. Travis earned a B in both years. Bush earned a B, up from a D in 2025.
Look at the direction column before the letter. Colony Bend, Highlands and Oyster Creek moved up to an A. Barrington Place, Lakeview and Townewest slipped from a B to a C. Dulles Middle went from an A to a B. None of that means a school changed overnight, but a buyer paying for a zone deserves to know which way it is trending.
The closed schools that still got a grade
This is the detail I expect to trip up the most listings this fall.
When I wrote about the seven Fort Bend ISD elementary closures in August, I used the 2025 ratings, because those were the ratings that existed. At the time Sugar Mill Elementary held an A. The 2026 results cover the school year that just ended, so the closed campuses still received a grade even though they did not open on August 11.
| Closed Sugar Land campus | 2026 grade | Receiving campuses and their 2026 grades |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar Mill Elementary | C (A in 2025) | Drabek B, Barrington Place C, Lakeview C |
| Austin Parkway Elementary | B | Settlers Way A, Bhuchar A |
| Dulles Elementary | C | Highlands A, Lexington Creek A |
That updates the story I told in August. Families moved out of Austin Parkway and Dulles Elementary are now zoned to campuses that earned an A this year. The Sugar Mill picture is more mixed, with two of its three receiving campuses slipping to a C.
The practical point is simpler than the table. If a listing names Sugar Mill, Austin Parkway or Dulles Elementary as the zoned school, the listing is wrong, no matter what grade those campuses received.
Why the campus beats the district every time
For a purchase, the district rating tells you about the system. The campus rating tells you about your kid's Tuesday.
Fort Bend ISD is one district, but its campuses in 2026 ranged from A to D. A district B can sit on top of a zoned elementary that earned an A or one that earned a C. That is why I never let a buyer stop at "it's Fort Bend ISD."
It also matters that the address, not the subdivision, decides the zone. Several Sugar Land communities split across more than one campus, and two homes on the same street can feed different schools. My Fort Bend ISD school ratings and zoning guide from February covers the feeder patterns in more depth, though parts of it predate the closures, so check anything specific against the current locator.
And one Sugar Land wrinkle: Greatwood sits inside Sugar Land but is zoned to Lamar CISD, not Fort Bend ISD. Lamar CISD also earned an overall B for 2026, with 21 campuses rated A and 20 rated B, according to the district. Its A rated high schools include Terry, Foster, Fulshear, George Ranch and Tomas, and Lamar Consolidated and Randle earned a B. The Greatwood guide explains the zoning.
How to look up the schools for a specific address
Answer first: run the exact street address through the district's locator, then look up each assigned campus on txschools.gov. It takes about ten minutes.
- Open the Fort Bend ISD 2026 to 2027 School Locator and enter the full address. Write down the elementary, middle and high school it returns.
- Go to txschools.gov and search each of those three campuses by name, or search by the address to see nearby schools on the map.
- Open each campus report, not just the letter. Look at the three area scores and any distinctions. A campus that earned a B with a strong progress score is a different school than one that earned a B on achievement alone.
- Check the prior year. TEA publishes earlier ratings on the same site. One letter tells you where a school is. Two or three tell you where it is going.
The rezoning caveat buyers keep missing
Today's zone is not a promise about next year's zone.
Fort Bend ISD's secondary boundary review is still in motion. As I covered in the middle and high school rezoning post, the draft scenarios touch Austin, Travis, Elkins, Bush, Clements and Dulles, final recommendations were scheduled to reach the board at the end of September, and the changes would apply to the 2027 to 2028 school year.
So a home that looks up to Dulles High today could feed Clements in 2027, or the reverse. If you are buying for a child entering middle or high school in the next two years, look up the address on both draft scenario maps and check what the board adopted before you close.
My checklist before you pick a neighborhood
This is what I walk buyers through, in this order.
- Decide which grades actually matter to your household. A family with a kindergartner and a family with a junior are shopping two different zones inside the same house.
- Run the address, not the neighborhood. Every time, on the district locator.
- Read the campus rating, the three area scores and the trend. The letter alone is the least useful part.
- Check for closures and rezoning. Confirm the listed school is open and ask whether the address sits inside an area affected by the secondary scenarios.
- Remember the ratings are preliminary until December 11. The final version is the one of record.
- Visit the school. Attend an open house and ask about the programs your child needs.
- Price the zone honestly. A great house in an A zone that is trending down, or a solid house in a B zone that is trending up, can both be the right buy. The offer playbook covers how to use that in a negotiation.
I will describe schools by their published ratings and their programs. I will not tell you which neighborhood is "better." That is your call to make, with the facts in front of you.
Frequently asked questions
What rating did Fort Bend ISD get in 2026?
Fort Bend ISD earned a B in the 2026 TEA A to F accountability ratings. The district reported its overall score rose from 80 in 2025 to 82 in 2026, and that 49 of its 81 rated campuses earned an A or B.
When were the 2026 TEA ratings released?
TEA released the 2026 A to F ratings publicly on August 14, 2026. Districts received preliminary ratings on August 12, the appeal window closed September 11, and final ratings are scheduled for December 11, 2026.
What rating did Clements High School get in 2026?
Clements High School earned an A in 2026, the same as 2025, according to TEA's ratings data on txschools.gov. Dulles, Stephen F. Austin and Kempner high schools each earned a B, with Kempner improving from a C.
Did any Fort Bend ISD schools get an F in 2026?
No. Fort Bend ISD had zero F rated campuses in 2026, down from three in 2025. The district had 23 campuses rated A, 26 rated B, 21 rated C and 11 rated D.
Why does a closed school still have a 2026 rating?
The 2026 ratings reflect the school year that ended in spring 2026, before the closures took effect on August 11. Sugar Mill, Austin Parkway and Dulles elementaries all received 2026 grades, but no Sugar Land address is zoned to them for the current school year.
How do I find the TEA rating for the schools zoned to a house?
Enter the exact address in the Fort Bend ISD 2026 to 2027 School Locator to get the assigned elementary, middle and high school. Then search each campus on txschools.gov to see its rating, its three area scores and its prior year results.
Does a school's A to F rating affect home values in Sugar Land?
School zones are one of several factors buyers weigh, alongside the house, the lot, the commute and taxes. A rating change usually shows up gradually, often in how fast a home sells rather than a sudden price change.
The bottom line
Fort Bend ISD's B is a decent headline and a modest improvement. It is not the number you are buying.
What you are buying is three specific campuses, and in Sugar Land those campuses moved in both directions this year. Some elementaries climbed to an A. A few slipped to a C. Kempner moved up a letter and Bush moved up two. Three closed schools still carry a grade that no longer applies to any house.
Run the address, read the campus report, check the trend, and watch the rezoning decision before you close. If you want a second set of eyes on a specific listing, send me the address and I will pull all three campuses and walk you through what they mean for that house.
Sources: Texas Education Agency, TEA releases 2026 A to F accountability ratings; TEA, 2026 A to F Accountability Ratings Appeals Process and Timeline; Fort Bend ISD, Continued Academic Progress in 2026 Accountability Ratings; TXschools.gov campus ratings; Fort Bend Focus, Lamar CISD 2026 TEA accountability results.
