United ISD reports 913 magnet applicants for 2025–26; selection uses grades and CogAT weighting

United ISD’s director of advanced academics summarized the district’s magnet selection process and outcomes for the 2025–26 cycle, reporting strong demand and explaining the ranking and offer process used to fill program slots.

"Compared to the enrollment we have of eighth graders in our district, there were a total of 913 applicants for the magnet program," Mario Rosales said. Rosales said 781 applicants opted to test and 745 completed testing; 36 test takers were from out of district. He said each magnet program has a capacity of about 150 students and that district staff made approximately 580 phone calls to offer slots based on ranked scores.

Rosales described the weighting used for selection: 60% of the composite ranking is drawn from seventh‑ and fall eighth‑grade report card core subject averages (math, science, language arts, reading and social studies) and 40% from the CogAT assessment score. He illustrated the calculation with a hypothetical example showing how the combined metric generates a ranking used to call and confirm families.

Rosales also provided testing and outreach timing: letters to applicants were mailed the week of April 14–17, and a parent meeting for accepted students was scheduled for May 15. He noted students who declined offers or accepted alternate programs (for example early college slots) affected the finalized campus counts and that available slots can change before the start of the school year.

Board members asked about future expansion; Rosales said district staff are studying options including a possible liberal‑arts magnet and noted engineering and health/medical magnets remain the most sought programs. The presentation was informational; trustees did not take formal action at the workshop.