Readiness. Of all schools in the state of Texas, only 153 received this honor. This ranks the school in the top 1 percent of their state. In 2012, the school was inducted into the Texas Honors Circle, a prestigious honor that schools with high academic performance and a well-managed budget attain. IDEA Frontier ranked in the four percent of all schools who met the criteria. The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts measures these rankings using a FAST (Financial Allocation Study for Texas) rating system, ranging from one to five stars. The average of a school's academic progress percentile and spending index determine the ranking. The Texas Charter Schools Association recognized IDEA Frontier College Preparatory for showing consistency in high student performance and growth in 2013. Only 27 schools received this honor, while only 11 school districts in the state of Texas were mentioned. The organization tracks charter schools around the state and compare the level of proficiency they perform for three years. Children at Risk, a non-profit organization that aims to improve the quality of life for children through strategic research, public policy analysis, education, collaboration, and advocacy ranked Frontier as the 38th best school in Texas, achieving the highest rating of A+. The organization assess their rankings based on student performance on state exams in reading and math, the annual student progress on those tests and the relative scores of low-income students. National rankings The school has consistently ranked in the top 1 percent of high schools in the United States. According to the U.S News & World Report, the school has been present in their national, state, and charter rankings for four consecutive years. Among more than 21,000 high schools in America, the school was ranked 60th nationally and 11th in the state of Texas for the 2013 year. The school ranked 85 nationally and 27 statewide in 2014, earning a gold medal for being a top performer in the College Readiness Index. The following year, the school ranked as the 49th best high school in America and the 8th best in the state of Texas. For the 2016 rankings, the school ranked as the 79th best performing school in the country, the 27th best charter school in America and the 15th best in the state. The rankings for the annual report are based on a College Readiness Index, the percentage of students who AP tested and passed,