By Nearly Every Measure, Texas is Failing Its Girls

It’s never been easy to be an adolescent girl, but a new study by the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas suggests that Texas in 2026 may be the toughest place and time yet for young women to grow up in. 

Measuring physical, academic, and social/emotional standards using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health U.S. Department of Education, Texas Education Agency academic reports, graduation data and interviews with young women and parents from across North Texas, the State of the Texas Girl report concludes that Texas now ranks 41st in the nation when it comes to the well-being of girls. 

“I see firsthand how the struggles outlined in this report directly affect girls and Girl Scouts of all ages,” said Jennifer Bartowski, CEO of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, in a statement. “Though Texas ranking 41st in overall girl well-being is distressing, it is sadly not surprising as the leader of a girl-serving organization in this state.” 

Of all U.S. states and Washington, D.C., Texas girls are recording the fewest hours of physical activity; 92% are not meeting 60 minutes of physical activity a day. By comparison, 80% of boys in the Lone Star State are failing to meet physical activity standards. Combined with less time being active, nearly one in four girls is using screens for four hours or more each day, and more than one-third of Texas’ girls are considered overweight or obese. The combination of those factors results in the national last-place ranking in the report. 

Despite metrics showing that a majority of girls in Texas are not achieving healthy levels of physical activity, most North Texas parents surveyed seemed to believe the opposite. Fifty-five percent stated they believe their daughters and her peers are achieving “excellent” or “good” levels of physical fitness, and 45% suggested Texas girls’ physical well-being is “average.” Still, across all four individual metrics used to measure physical well-being — screen time, weight, poverty level, and time spent active — Texas ranks among the bottom 10 states in the U.S. 

Three in five Texas girls now report feeling “persistently sad and hopeless,” and teen girls report feelings of anxiety or depression at twice the rate of teen boys, the report states, and parent responses to the report survey indicate that adults are somewhat aware that adolescent mental health is an issue. Still, access to resources lags behind need. 

Only 13% of girls aged 3 to 17 are receiving mental health treatment, the report found, despite 23% reporting struggles with emotional, behavioral or developmental issues. Schools are also woefully unprepared to meet demand, with only one adult support person (defined as school counselors, social workers, psychologists, or nurses) per 392 students. 

Academically, reading and math proficiency levels are “extremely low.” In science, specifically, Texas girls are less likely to achieve proficiency by eighth grade than their male peers. 

Current eighth graders are also lagging behind national standards in reading and math, even as graduation rates for young women in Texas reach 92%, outpacing the national rate of 88%. That suggests to the report’s authors that it may be Texas’ early teens — a group that would have been in the early stages of their education at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic — who are disproportionately struggling in the classroom.

“It is important to recognize the impact the pandemic had on students — eighth grade girls’ academic proficiency is far below that of fourth grade girls, indicating this may be a vulnerable age group, disproportionately affected by school closures and social isolation,” the report states. 

According to the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas, the report offers a post-pandemic baseline to monitor the challenges girls across the state face today, and the extent to which they are overcoming those challenges. 

“At Girl Scouts, we strive to make the world a better place through building girls of courage, confidence, and character, but we can’t do it alone,” said Bartowski. “We encourage everyone to read the report to get educated on this issue, share with your networks, and think of ways you can help us pave the way for our future female leaders of Texas.”