Academics

School Profile

About Hockaday

The Hockaday School is an independent, college-preparatory school in Dallas, TX for girls from prekindergarten through twelfth grades. Founded in 1913, the School is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest. Hockaday is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools, One Schoolhouse, The College Board, the National and Texas Associations for College Admission Counseling, and the Cum Laude Society.

Upper School Academics

List of 8 items.

  • Academic Rigor

    Enriched: Courses designated as enriched  are designed to move through subject matter at a demanding pace, and students may delve more deeply into specific areas as interested.  
     
    Honors: Courses designated as honors are equal to and more often exceed the level of expectation and depth of study required by College Board Advanced Placement courses. Most advanced courses become available to students in the Form III year.   

  • Graduation Requirements

    The required course load is four, full-credit academic courses per year. 

    SUBJECTCREDITSREQUIRED COURSES
    English12English I, II, III, Two Senior Semesters 
    Math9Three years with minimum completion of Integrated Math III
    Science9Physics, Chemistry, Biology 
    World Languages9 or through Level IIIMinimum of two years in the same language
    History7.5World History,  US Government, US History 
    Fine Arts3History of Art and Music 


  • Integrated Math

    Integrated Math spirals concepts from Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II over a three-year period. All students will graduate with a firm foundation in these three subjects, having completed the equivalent of a year of study in each. In addition, concepts from statistics/probability, logical reasoning, and discrete mathematics are spiraled throughout the program.    

  • Interdisciplinary Courses

    Interdisciplinary courses at Hockaday access content and skills from two or more disciplines. Interdisciplinary courses by their nature stimulate curiosity, embrace ambiguity, and foster broader purpose. These courses ask that students focus on integrating seemingly disparate ideas to generate novel perspectives and build empathy; applying knowledge in unexpected contexts; synthesizing insights to build new ways of viewing the world and themselves; and drawing upon material from multiple disciplines to solve problems.  

  • Ranking and GPA

    It is Hockaday’s policy not to rank students. Grade point average is cumulative, unweighted, calculated on a four-point scale, and includes all Hockaday classes. GPAs are updated at the end of each academic year. Honors and advanced placement courses are not weighted. 

  • Semester Courses

    Semester courses are widely available to students in their junior and senior years. Many of these courses are among the most demanding classes available. Semester courses are designed to align with the college model that allows students to develop a concentration while maintaining breadth of study.  

  • Social Impact Courses

    Courses with the Social Impact designation are connected to the Institute for Social Impact. To have the Social Impact designation, courses must meet the goals of three of the four pillars (service learning, community service, community engagement, and social entrepreneurship) and actively create opportunities for students to experience outcomes such as increased advocacy skills, real-world interactions, and practice designing solutions, exploring purpose, and building empathy. 

  • Additional Education Opportunities

    There are additional education options available to Hockaday students, including directed independent study projects, Marine Biology Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in Colorado, SEGL in Washington, D.C., and Swiss Semester in Zermatt, to name a few. Additionally, students may take courses offered by One Schoolhouse (OSH) to expand the array of courses available to them. Hockaday considers these courses to be an equivalent educational experience to a course taken in a traditional classroom setting.   

Enrollment

Upper School: Grades 9 – 12
500

Middle School: Grades 5 – 8
337

Lower School: Grades Pre-K – 4
276

Total Enrollment          
1113

Students of Color (self-identified) 52% 

Students Receiving Financial Aid 12%

Class of 2024 Scholarship Recognition Programs

National Merit Scholars
Finalists: 19
Semifinalists: 24
Commendees: 36

College Board National
Recognition Programs
Scholars: 11

Class of 2024 Standardized Testing

Advanced Placement Testing
Percent Who Scored 3, 4, or 5: 96% 

SAT Testing
Range of Middle 50%
Evidence-Based
Reading and Writing 710 – 770
Mathematics 700 – 790

ACT Testing
Range of Middle 50%
English 33-36 
Math 28-34 
Reading 32-36 
Science Reasoning 29-34 
Composite 30-34

College Matriculation: 2022 – 2024

100% of Hockaday graduates enroll in post-secondary institutions.
Amherst College (1)
Auburn University (2)
Austin College (1)
Babson College (1)
Barnard College (1)
Bates College (2)
Baylor University (2)
Boston University (4)
Bowdoin College (3)
Brandeis University (1)
Carnegie Mellon University (2)
Case Western Reserve University (2)
Chapman University (1)
Claremont McKenna College (1)
Clemson University (1)
Colby College (1)
Colgate University (2)
Columbia University in the City of New York (6)
Connecticut College (1)
Cornell University (6)
Dartmouth College (3)
Davidson College (2)
Duke University (6)
Emory University (1)
Emory University-Oxford College (1)
Fordham University (6)
George Washington University (1)
Georgetown University (9)
Gonzaga University (1)
Grinnell College (1)
Hamilton College (1)
Harvard University (6)
Harvey Mudd College (1)
Haverford College (2)
Howard University (2)
Indiana University-Bloomington (1)
John Cabot University (1)
Johns Hopkins University (4)
Loyola Marymount University (2)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (6)
Middlebury College (1)
New York University (13)
Northeastern University (8)
Northwestern University (12)
Oberlin College (1)
Occidental College (1)
Oregon State University (1)
Pennsylvania State University (2)
Pepperdine University (1)
Pomona College (1)
Princeton University (1)
Purdue University (1)
Reed College (1)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1)
Rhodes College (2)
Rice University (6)
Ringling College of Art and Design (1)
Santa Clara University (5)
Smith College (1)
Southern Methodist University (17)
Spelman College (1)
Stanford University (5)
Swarthmore College (1)
Syracuse University (4)
Texas A & M University-College Station (11)
Texas Christian University (2)
Texas Woman's University (1)
The American University of Paris (1)
The University of Alabama (3)
The University of Texas at Austin (43)
The University of Texas at Dallas (5)
The University of the South (1)
Transylvania University (1)
Tufts University (4)
Tulane University of Louisiana (4)
Union College (1)
United States Military Academy (1)
University of California-Berkeley (7)
University of California-Los Angeles (2)
University of California-San Diego (2)
University of California-Santa Barbara (2)
University of Central Florida (1)
University of Chicago (7)
University of Colorado Boulder (3)
University of Connecticut (1)
University of Denver (2)
University of Florida (1)
University of Georgia (2)
University of Glasgow (1)
University of Illinois Chicago (1)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1)
University of Louisville (1)
University of Miami (1)
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (7)
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (1)
University of Missouri-Columbia (1)
University of Notre Dame (5)
University of Pennsylvania (8)
University of Pittsburgh (1)
University of Richmond (1)
University of South Carolina-Columbia (1)
University of Southern California (5)
University of St Andrews (2)
University of Virginia-Main Campus (8)
University of Washington-Seattle Campus (2)
Vanderbilt University (3)
Vassar College (2)
Villanova University (4)
Wake Forest University (5)
Washington and Lee University (3)
Washington University in St Louis (2)
Wellesley College (2)
Wesleyan University (2)
William & Mary (4)
Williams College (3)
Yale University (6)

2024–2025 Courses

List of 5 items.

  • Computer Science

    AP Computer Science A +
    Introduction to Python (Semester)


    * Honors Courses   + Social Impact Courses

  • English

    English I: The Dangers of a Single Story 
    English II: Experiences in British Literature 
    English III: The American Experience 

    Honors English Semesters  
    Fashion or Fiction *+
    Creative Writing *
    The Modern Short Story *
    The Monster Class *
    The Rhetoric of World Issues *
    Russian Literature *

    * Honors Courses   + Social Impact Courses

  • History

    World History
    U.S. Government +
    U.S. History:  American Foreign Policy and
    International Relations *+
    U.S. History: Creating American Identity*
    U.S. History: Law in American Society *
    AP U.S. History 
    AP Economics
    Senior History Semesters 
    AP World History Modern
    Economics & Social Entrepreneurship *+
    Empowering Women through Financial
    Literacy       
    Game without Rules: The Modern Middle East *
    Global Issues of the Twenty-First Century *+
    Philosophy of the 21st Century
    Postwar American Film

    * Honors Courses   + Social Impact Courses

  • Mathematics

    Integrated Math II/III
    Integrated Math III, Integrated Math IIIB 
    Integrated Math III Enriched +
    Functions and Trigonometry
    Applications of Precalculus, Precalculus, Precalculus Enriched
    Statistics +
    Calculus
    AP Statistics
    AP Calculus AB 
    AP Calculus BC
    Multivariable Calculus *
    Introduction to Financial Accounting *
    (Semester)

    * Honors Courses   + Social Impact Courses

  • World Languages

    Mandarin Chinese II, III 
    AP Mandarin Chinese
    Advanced Chinese Language and Culture for
    Heritage & Non-Heritage Speakers *
    French I, II, III, IV
    AP French Language and Culture
    Business French *
    Latin I, II, III 
    Latin of Politics and Science *
    AP Latin
    Spanish I, II, II Enriched, III, III Enriched, IV
    AP Spanish Language and Culture
     
    Honors Spanish Semesters
    Conflict Literature*  
    Spanish in the Community *+

    * Honors Courses   + Social Impact Courses

List of 5 items.

  • Fine Arts

    Chamber Orchestra +
    Concert Choir
    Studio Art: Foundations of Creativity, Advanced Studio Art
    Studio Art II, Advanced Studio Art III +
    Applied Music: Private Lessons
    AP Studio Art
    AP 3-D Art and Design
    Foundations of Creativity and Ceramics, Advanced Ceramics and Sculpture
    Daisy Company (Beginning Drama) *+
    Hockaday Theater Company (Intermediate Drama)
    Hockaday Rep Company (Advanced Drama) 
    Little Great Little Works: Theater Tech
    Foundations of Creativity and Photography
    Intermediate Photography
    Advanced Photography
    Introduction to Debate
    Advanced Debate: World Schools Debate
    Dance Extension
    Workshop I and II
    Dance Lab +
    Dance Theater +
    Foundations of Creativity and Film
    Advanced Filmmaking 

  • Interdisciplinary

    Astronomy *
    Disability and Identity +
    Economics & Social Entrepreneurship *+
    The End of the World *
    History of Art and Music
    Introduction to Financial Accounting *
    Neuroscience *+
    Sports Science *

    * Honors Courses   + Social Impact Courses

  • Mass Communications

    Introduction to Journalism
    Newspaper/Fourcast 
    Yearbook/Cornerstones
    Literary Magazine/Vibrato

  • Physical Education

    Health I: Understanding the Basics 
    Health II: Self Defense
    PE I and PE II

  • Science

    Physics
    Chemistry Enriched
    Environmental SI +
    Biology, Impact, and the Zoo *+
    AP Biology
    AP Chemistry
    AP Environmental Science +
    AP Physics C
    Biology *+
    Semester Courses:   
    Advanced Genetics *
    Astronomy *
    Bio: Comparative Vertebrate Anatomy *
    Bio: Classical Genetics *
    Bio: Conservation Biology *
    Engineering Design, Manufacturing and Human Progress
    Forensics *
    Infectious Disease Epidemiology *
    Neuroscience *+

    * Honors Courses   + Social Impact Courses

The Hockaday School

11600 Welch Road
Dallas, TX 75229
(214) 363-6311
Within the private school community, The Hockaday School is an independent college-preparatory day school for girls from grades PK–12 located in Dallas, Texas. Students realize their limitless potential through challenging academic curricula, arts, athletics, and extracurricular programs so that they are inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact.