Paradise High School

Tucked away in the small ranching community of Paradise, this Wise County school punches well above its size, landing in the top 20% of Texas high schools with particularly strong English scores. It's the kind of place where everybody knows everybody, and that tight-knit culture translates into a school where students don't get lost in the crowd. Families drawn to small-town country living — think wide-open land northwest of Fort Worth, about an hour from the city — will find a school that takes academics seriously without losing that close community feel.