The results are in and two Georgia high schools were among the top 100 in the country, according to the new 2018 US News & World Report Best High Schools rankings. Gwinnett School of Mathematics-Science and Technology ranked #31 and DeKalb School of Arts ranked #75. Columbus High School just barely missed the top 100, coming in at #105.

The magazine took into account graduation rates, performance on state assessments and college readiness in their survey of 20,500 public schools across the country. Schools were then awarded gold, silver or bronze medals. Georgia had 16 schools in the gold category.

How They Picked the Best

U.S. News and World Report used a four-step process to determine the best high schools. First they took into account whether or not the schools’ students exceeded expectations by analyzing scores on state math and reading assessments. They factored in the proportion of the student body that was economically disadvantaged and projected to score lower. Step two looked at whether the historically underserved students performed above the average for similar students within that state.

Next they looked at each school’s graduation rates and they excluded schools that were lower than 80%. Finally, for schools passing the first three steps, they calculated a College Readiness Index (CRI) based on the percentages of each school’s students who took and passed Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

The Top Twenty in Georgia

Our state’s best high schools are spread out all over Georgia. Of these top twenty, seventeen are in the Atlanta metro area, but even those are not all condensed into one suburb. Outside of Atlanta, Savannah, Augusta and Columbus each had a top notch school.

Gwinnett School of Mathematics- Science and Technology
Lawrenceville (#31)

DeKalb School of the Arts
Avondale Estates (#75)

Columbus High School
Columbus (#105)

Davidson Magnet School
Augusta (#138)

Savannah Arts Academy
Savannah (#156)

Cambridge High School
Milton (#250)

Alpharetta High School
Alpharetta (#291)

Johns Creek High School
Johns Creek (#313)

Walton High School
Marietta (#314)

Northview High School
Duluth (#322)

Chattahoochee High School
Alpharetta (#328)

Milton High School
Alpharetta (#342)

North Gwinnett High School
Suwannee (#416)

Chamblee Charter High School
Chamblee (#457)

Roswell High School
Roswell (#465)

Decatur High School
Decatur (#496)

South Forsyth High School
Cumming (#504)

Lambert High School
Suwannee (#567)

Oconee High School
Watkinsville (#573)

McIntosh High School
Peachtree City (#576)

To see if your area high school made the cut, check out the entire list of Georgia high schools that received gold, silver and bronze rankings. 

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