David W. Carter High School was named after prominent Dallas Independent School District board member, David Wendell Carter. Dr. Carter served on the school board for twenty five years, 1925-1950,  the longest tenure of any board member in DISD history. For sixteen of those years he served as President of the school board. The high school was built in 1965 in the far southwestern part of Oak Cliff to meet the anticipated demand of this rapidly expanding community. The school was surrounded by acres upon acres of farmland where wheat was grown and livestock grazed across the street. At the time, the area around Carter was sparsely populated with little development around the neighborhood.

When completed, it became the largest high school in Dallas. Because of its size, there were challenges finding enough students to fill the building and for a few years an elementary school occupied the third floor. Students were initially drawn from the Justin F. Kimball High School district, and soon instigated a rivalry between the two schools which still remains today. Carter's first graduates were in 1968, with less than 200 students graduating from the senior class. David W. Carter student athletes have been portrayed in two acclaimed movies, Friday Night Lights (2004) and Carter High (2015). The school's colors are Scarlet Red and Columbia Blue and its mascot is the Cowboys.