Cobb County had nearly two dozen schools on Georgia’s list of the 187 best released Tuesday by Gov. Nathan Deal.

The results are based on the state's College and Career Ready Performance Index. The highest performers were those that ranked at or above the 93rd percentile for their "achievement" score, while the greatest gainers ranked that way on their "progress" score, in each case based on an average over three years.

More than 80 are in core metro Atlanta school districts, with Fulton scoring the most at 23.

Cobb was close behind, or actually tied, depending on whether Marietta’s two schools are included. The city in Cobb County has its own school system. The Cobb County School District had 21 on the list.

Here are the schools and the categories in which they excelled:

Marietta Center for Advanced Academics — both

Marietta Sixth Grade Academy — gains

Allatoona High School — gains

Dickerson Middle School — performance

Dodgen Middle School — both

East Side Elementary School — performance

Eastvalley Elementary School — gains

Ford Elementary School — performance

Garrison Mill Elementary School — both

Harrison High School — both

Hightower Trail Middle School — both

Hillgrove High School — gains

Kemp Elementary School — both

Kennesaw Mountain High School — gains

Lassiter High School — both

Mabry Middle School — performance

McClure Middle School — gains

Mount Bethel Elementary School — both

Murdock Elementary School — performance

Pope High School — performance

Sope Creek Elementary School — both

Timber Ridge Elementary School — performance

Walton High School — performance

Nearly half of Georgia's top-ranked schools are in core metro Atlanta school districts. Read about more them here.

About the Author

Keep Reading

HBCUs nationally will get $438 million, according to the UNCF, previously known as the United Negro College Fund. Georgia has 10 historically Black colleges and universities. (Daniel Varnado for the AJC)

Credit: Daniel Varnado/For the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Featured

Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

Credit: NYT