Here’s U.S. News & World Report’s list of the 10 best high schools in Georgia, its school district and where they rank nationally in parenthesis:
1. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology, Gwinnett (4)
2. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School, Richmond (74)
3. Columbus High School, Muscogee (85)
4. DeKalb School of the Arts, DeKalb (108)
5. Savannah Arts Academy, Chatham (173)
6. Milton High School, Fulton (187)
7. Walton High School, Cobb (223)
8. Northview High School, Fulton (236)
9. Johns Creek High School, Fulton (277)
10. Alpharetta High School, Fulton (286)
Most of Georgia’s best high schools sit along the northern suburbs of Atlanta, and its best one is in Gwinnett County, according to newly-released national rankings.
The quality of high schools are important not only to the education of children and improving their chances to get into better colleges, but home prices near the best high schools are typically higher and retain their value better.
The Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology is America's fourth-best high school, according to U.S. News and World Report, which compiles the popular annual list. The charter school, located near Lawrenceville, had the highest average SAT scores in 2014 of any public school in Georgia and the highest score on the state's College and Career-Ready Performance Index.
» SEARCHABLE DATABASE: Find comprehensive data for your Georgia high school here
The school’s principal, IV Bray, believes its use technology in the classroom, occasionally recruiting teachers from industries related to its curriculum and requirements that all students do an internship have pushed pupils to excel academically.
“It contextualizes their academic work and why they are learning what they are learning,” Bray said Monday about the student internships, which have included working in Georgia Tech research labs.
Seven of the top 10 high schools in Georgia on the list are located in Cobb County, DeKalb and north Fulton counties. Nearly all of those schools are well below the state average of the percentage of students eligible for Georgia's Free & Reduced-Price meal program. Schools in more affluent communities typically fare better academically, experts note.
U.S. News and World Report examined academic data of nearly 30,000 American high schools during the 2012-13 school year for its rankings. The news site reviewed reading and math results for all students on each state’s high school proficiency tests, the academic performance of African-American, Hispanic and low-income students and the percentage of students taking rigorous courses such as Advanced Placement classes to help determine its rankings.
The top school on the U.S. News and World Report list is the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas, Texas.
Click here to see the AJC's complete searchable database for Georgia's public high schools.
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