How we research a school decision.

Start with the decision your family faces

We compare the options you are weighing for one focus child and one target school year. Your priorities guide the comparison: cost, school type, commute, aftercare, deadlines, and support needs you choose to describe. Sibling schedules can matter as logistics. Separate sibling school comparisons are outside the report.

Why we do not rank Houston schools

The best school is the one that works for a particular child and family, within real limits such as commute, aftercare, cost, deadlines, language and support needs. A single ranking hides those tradeoffs, treats unlike schools as interchangeable and can stay visible after the underlying facts change. The School Decision Report compares each option on the same criteria, cites the dated evidence, and marks missing or conflicting information as unknown. That leaves the family with a comparison it can inspect and a decision it can own, so we do not rank schools.

Use primary sources and show the date

We start with school tuition pages, district application rules, and official state program information. We link each time-sensitive fact to its source and record when it was checked. Tuition can differ by grade, fees, and family status. A number without the right year and conditions can give the wrong answer.

For example, our TEFA calculator uses a dated sample of twenty-six schools. Its grade filter does not select grade-specific tuition. The table identifies which schools appeared in the official finder on the checked date. A missing entry is not a prediction about future participation.

Make the calculation and its limits visible

Net tuition is tuition minus the applicable award, with a floor of zero. Fees, financial aid, deposits, and payment timing can change what a family needs to pay. We distinguish published figures from assumptions and flag missing or conflicting information. We do not infer a child's admission chances from prior-cycle application totals.

A school decides admission. The state decides program eligibility and awards. A listing does not promise an available seat, an award, or a good fit.

AI-assisted research, with human review

AI tools help organize sources and draft the comparison. A person reviews the report before delivery, including facts, calculations, citations, reasoning, exclusions, and unresolved questions. Audio and other included files are made from the reviewed report and checked together.

We do not present this as credentialed placement advice. We do not claim to have visited a school or observed a class unless we can document that work. Your family makes the final decision.

No school pays us

Families pay for the School Decision Report. We receive no fees, commissions, or compensation from schools. Schools cannot pay for inclusion or favorable treatment. Our public school sample is not a ranking or an endorsement.

Corrections and changing information

School rules and prices change. Confirm a deadline, award, or tuition amount with its primary source before acting. If a material source changes, we check the affected public copy, table, calculation, and structured data together. The checked date records a source review; the updated date records a substantive page change.

For a delivered report, factual corrections are free for 14 days. Corrections carry through the report, audio, transcript, and action kit. Read the full support and refund terms. Send a source link or correction to hello@schoolclearly.com.

Keep family information limited

Do not send medical records, Social Security numbers, or full school records. Our privacy policy explains how long we keep your report and your intake, and how to request deletion.