Buford City Schools ranks No. 1 in Georgia for 3rd year

For the third year in a row, Buford City Schools is ranked the No. 1 district in Georgia by Niche, an online data research site.

Buford also is No. 1 in Georgia for safest school district, best for athletes and best places to teach in; No. 2 for best teachers; and No. 13 for diversity.

Niche's lengthy methodology for calculating school rankings and grades involves "a series of steps to ensure statistical rigor and useful guidance in the school choice experience." You can read the full methodology here.

The district has 4,597 students in grades pre-K through 12, with a student-teacher ratio of 16-to-1, Niche states. According to state test scores, 70% of students are at least proficient in math and 60% in reading.

Nationwide, Buford ranks No. 105 for best school districts, but No. 6 in best for athletes and No. 36 for safest school districts.

Buford is in Gwinnett County. Gwinnett Public Schools fell to No. 21 for 2020, down from No. 17 last year and No. 13 the year before that.

Buford’s overall grade is A+, receiving that same grade for teachers, clubs and activities, administration, food, college prep, health and safety and sports. Buford receives an A for academics, diversity, and resources and facilities.

Also receiving an A+ from Niche are No. 2 Oconee County Schools, No. 3 Forsyth County Schools and No. 4 Decatur City Schools. Jefferson City Schools, which rounds out the top 5, receives an A overall.

So, where are the best school districts in the country? Three of the top five are in Illinois and two are in New York.

The top-ranked school district on Niche’s ranking is Glenbrook High Schools District 225 in Glenview, Illinois. Numbers 2-5 are: Community High School District No. 128 in Vernon Hills, Illinois; Great Neck Public Schools in Great Neck, New York; New Trier Township High School District No. 203 in Northfield, Illinois; and Jericho Union Fee School District in Jericho, New York.

In its ranking of individual schools, two in Georgia are in Niche’s top 100 schools in the country.

Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science & Technology is No. 13 in the country and No. 1 in Georgia.

Northview High School in Johns Creek is ranked No. 91 in the United States and No. 2 in Georgia.

MORE SCHOOL RANKINGS

» 2 Georgia public high schools rank in top 100 in US

» These are the top 10 public, private high schools in Georgia

» This Gwinnett high school is ranked the best in Georgia, 13th in U.S. in 2018

» Two Georgia schools among America's 50 'smartest colleges'