Last year, we revealed a stark reality: Only one in five Houston-area high school graduates currently earn enough to meet their basic needs by their mid-20s.
That means 80% of students who graduate from Houston-region public schools are not on a path to economic stability in young adulthood. Many are working, but their wages aren’t enough to cover rent, utilities, food, transportation and other basic expenses without financial strain.
Our North Star goal is to double the rate of graduates earning a living wage by 2040. To get there, we need to understand what’s working for the schools already beating the odds. That’s why, as part of our newest research initiative, High Schools for Postsecondary Success, we are identifying the Houston-region high schools that are already setting students up for long-term success and learning from them.
Our Research, Data and Insights team has identified more than a dozen Houston-region high schools that serve high-need student populations while significantly outperforming regional averages in postsecondary enrollment, credential attainment and graduates’ early-career earnings.
These schools are employing innovative strategies to provide their students with the skills, knowledge and experiences needed for long-term opportunity and success. Now, we’re partnering with them to document what works—and share those findings across the region.
The Research: Finding Houston’s High-Performing High Schools
Our Research & Data team analyzed postsecondary outcomes for Houston-region high schools, looking specifically at schools that serve high-need student populations, schools with high percentages of economically disadvantaged students.
We looked at three critical measures:
- Postsecondary enrollment: Are graduates enrolling in college or career training programs?
- Credential attainment : Are they completing degrees, certificates or industry certifications?
- Living-wage earnings: Are they earning enough to meet their basic needs in young adulthood?
More than a dozen schools emerged as significantly outperforming the region on all three measures, despite serving student populations that typically face greater barriers to postsecondary success.
These schools prove that high-need doesn’t mean low-achievement. With the right strategies, systems and supports, schools can dramatically improve outcomes for their students.
What We’ll Study: Strategies, Systems and Culture
Through our High Schools for Postsecondary Success initiative, we’ll partner directly with the schools we’ve identified to understand what makes them successful.
What are they doing differently? What programs, partnerships and approaches are driving results? What does their campus culture look like? How do they support students who face obstacles?
We’ll work closely with school leadership, teachers, counselors and students to document the strategies that work. Then we’ll share those findings publicly so districts across the Houston region can learn from these examples and implement evidence-based practices.
The goal is to identify scalable strategies that other schools can adapt to their own contexts.
Featured Schools: Pasadena Memorial and Victory Early College
At the Postsecondary Pathways Conference on January 29, we spotlighted two of the schools identified through this initiative: Pasadena Memorial High School in Pasadena ISD and Victory Early College High School in Aldine ISD.
Both schools serve high-need student populations. Both significantly outperform regional averages in postsecondary enrollment, credential completion and living-wage earnings. And both are doing it in very different ways.
Pasadena Memorial High School builds systems that provide students with individualized support and cultivates a campus environment where students thrive. Principal Mike Adams emphasizes that success doesn’t come from a single silver bullet. “There’s no one thing that’s going to solve everything,” Adams shared at the conference. “It’s a culture, and it’s all of these little things that pile up.”
Victory Early College High School integrates college coursework into the high school experience, allowing students to earn college credits and industry certifications while still in high school. The school is part of Aldine ISD’s broader transformation as a district that has become one of the most improved in Texas, with its accountability rating increasing 10 points in just two years. Victory Early College was recently ranked among the nation’s best high schools by U.S. News & World Report.
We’ve announced research partnerships with both schools and will be conducting in-depth studies throughout 2026 to understand what drives their success. The Houston Chronicle featured both schools following the conference, highlighting the innovative approaches that make them stand out.
Building on What We Already Know
This initiative builds on our existing postsecondary research, which has identified three key levers that significantly impact students’ long-term success:
- Expanding access to advanced math pathways in middle school — Our research shows that taking Algebra I in eighth grade is strongly linked to higher college admission rates and increased wage earnings.
- Increasing participation in rigorous coursework in high school — Students who complete five or more AP courses, participate in dual credit programs, or earn career technical education certifications have significantly better postsecondary outcomes.
- Ensuring students read on grade level before entering ninth grade — Reading proficiency is a critical foundation for success in all subject areas and is strongly predictive of postsecondary readiness.
The High Schools for Postsecondary Success initiative will help us understand how schools are successfully implementing these strategies and what additional factors contribute to student success.
The Class of 2034 Is in Fourth Grade Today
“The graduating class of 2034 is in fourth grade right now,” said Patrick Gill, Director of Research & Data Strategy at Good Reason Houston. “These 50,000 students are counting on us to build systems today that set them up for success in the future.”
That timeline underscores why this work matters now. If we want to double the rate of graduates earning a living wage by 2040, we need to act on what we learn from high-performing schools immediately.
The strategies these schools are using are already changing students’ lives. By studying them rigorously and sharing what we learn, we can help more schools achieve similar results.
A Collaborative Approach
This initiative reflects our commitment to working alongside educators.
“We’re here to partner with educators who know their students best, share what the data shows works, and learn from schools already getting results,” Gill said.
We’re learning from the schools that are already succeeding and amplifying their voices so the entire region can benefit.
What’s Next
Throughout 2026, our Research, Data and Insights team will conduct in-depth partnerships with Pasadena Memorial, Victory Early College and additional schools identified through this initiative.
Later this year, we’ll release a comprehensive playbook that distills the insights gained from studying these high-performing schools. The playbook will provide districts with practical, evidence-based strategies they can implement to improve postsecondary outcomes for their students, translating what we learn into actionable steps that any school can adopt.
We’ll also share findings publicly as they emerge, ensuring that the Houston education community has access to the latest research and best practices. To be the first to know, sign up for our newsletter.
Together, we can learn from the schools already beating the odds and scale those strategies to reach every Houston student.
