Winborn Elementary in Williamsburg Settlement Named one of the best schools in Texas. Katy News Jan. 29, 2007, 11:10AM Magazine names 10 Katy schools as among best in Texas TOOLS Email Get section feed Print Subscribe NOW Ten Katy school district campuses are among the best public schools in Texas based on academic performance, according to a December report by Texas Monthly. The list of the best schools includes 574. Texas has more than 1,000 school districts. Katy schools recognized are Creech, Pattison, Williams and Winborn elementaries; Beck, Cinco Ranch, Katy and McMeans junior highs; and Cinco Ranch and Taylor high schools. Katy district spokesman Steve Stanford said the district "apparently found out by accident" that it had made the list. "We never received an official notice from Texas Monthly," Stanford said. "One of the principals just happened to come across it and told us. So, Marcie (King, a district communication specialist) in our office went to their Web site, got the list of schools, and thus we recognized them at the board meeting (Monday)." An Austin-based educational national research center called the National Center for Educational Accountability developed the criteria that Texas Monthly used. To make the list, schools had to demonstrate outstanding performance in comparison to similar schools across several grades and during several years of testing. The performance analysis, done about every three years, focuses on students who have been in the school for a sufficient period for their achievement level to reflect the efforts of that particular school. Schools were judged on Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills scores, including student performance in core subject areas such as math, science, reading, writing and social studies, as well as demographics from 2004-06. The analysis also took into consideration enrollment and the number of low-income students. Katy was one of three local school districts to make the list, along with the Fort Bend and Lamar Consolidated school districts.