Like other states in the Southeast, Georgia’s public schools lag slightly behind compared to those in other regions of the country. However, public education in the state is steadily improving, with the state graduation rate regularly hitting all-time peaks, year after year. While this is good news for Georgia, the performance of the state’s best districts far puts them in an elite class of their own.
Buford City Schools is the best school district in Georgia. Comprising four schools in Gwinnett County, BCS has long been considered one of the highest performing districts in the state, both in academics and extracurriculars. Four Buford schools hold an “A” grade from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement.
Ranking 2nd is the City Schools of Decatur, a public charter school district of 10 schools in Dekalb County with a total enrollment of around 5,600 students. On standardized tests, students of the district outperform state and national averages in all grade levels, while Decatur High School was named a Georgia AP Challenge and AP Merit school.
Georgia’s 3rd best school district is Jefferson City Schools, a small district of four schools based in Jackson County. JCS schools perform at a high level and have earned numerous awards and recognitions, including a 2018 Highest-Performing Title-I Reward School honor for Jefferson Academy.
Harris County School District earns 4th place among Georgia public school districts. The accredited district consists of seven schools and a performance learning center based in Hamilton. HCSD’s graduation rate of 93% is over 10 points higher than the statewide rate.
Closing out the list of Georgia’s five best school districts is Bremen City Schools, comprising three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school in Haralson County. All of the district’s schools earned either an “A” or “B” grade from the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement.
Top School Districts in Georgia, 2020
Rank School District City 1 Buford City Buford 2 City Schools Of Decatur Decatur 3 Jefferson City Jefferson 4 Harris County Hamilton 5 Bremen City Bremen 6 Lee County Leesburg 7 Habersham County Clarkesville 8 Dawson County Dawsonville 9 Calhoun City Calhoun 10 Gordon County Calhoun 11 White County Cleveland 12 Union County Blairsville 13 Pierce County Blackshear 14 Cartersville City Cartersville 15 Laurens County Dublin 16 Madison County Danielsville 17 Murray County Chatsworth 18 Ware County Waycross 19 Heard County Franklin 20 Rome City Rome 21 Carrollton City Carrollton 22 Monroe County Forsyth 23 Pickens County Jasper 24 Gilmer County Ellijay 25 Chickamauga City Chickamauga 26 Fannin County Blue Ridge 27 Hart County Hartwell 28 Rabun County Clayton 29 Morgan County Madison 30 Lumpkin County Dahlonega 31 Trion City Trion 32 Bleckley County Cochran 33 Wayne County Jesup 34 Jones County Gray 35 Decatur County Bainbridge 36 Thomas County Thomasville 37 Social Circle City Social Circle 38 Banks County Homer 39 Burke County Waynesboro 40 Stephens County Toccoa 41 Thomaston-Upson County Thomaston 42 Haralson County Buchanan 43 Franklin County Carnesville 44 Dodge County Eastman 45 Seminole County Donalsonville 46 Berrien County Nashville 47 Baldwin County Milledgeville 48 Brantley County Nahunta 49 Jeff Davis County Hazlehurst 50 Putnam County Eatonton 51 Pike County Zebulon 52 Commerce City Commerce 53 Candler County Metter 54 Oglethorpe County Lexington 55 Appling County Baxley 56 Towns County Hiawassee 57 Crisp County Cordele 58 Washington County Sandersville 59 Vidalia City Vidalia 60 Long County Ludowici 61 Schley County Ellaville 62 Dade County Trenton 63 Wilcox County Abbeville 64 Wilkinson County Irwinton 65 Sumter County Americus 66 Lamar County Barnesville 67 Butts County Jackson 68 Peach County Fort Valley 69 Tattnall County Reidsville 70 Elbert County Elberton 71 Chattooga County Summerville 72 Mitchell County Camilla 73 Worth County Sylvester 74 Cook County Adel 75 Greene County Greensboro 76 Grady County Cairo 77 Atkinson County Pearson 78 Bacon County Alma 79 Montgomery County Mt. Vernon 80 Emanuel County Swainsboro 81 Meriwether County Greenville 82 Telfair County Mcrae 83 Chattahoochee County Cusseta 84 Lincoln County Lincolnton 85 Toombs County Lyons 86 Johnson County Wrightsville 87 Echols County Statenville 88 Marion County Buena Vista 89 Early County Blakely 90 Irwin County Ocilla 91 Thomasville City Thomasville 92 Lanier County Lakeland 93 Terrell County Dawson 94 Clinch County Homerville 95 Jefferson County Louisville 96 Mcduffie County Thomson 97 Wilkes County Washington 98 Pulaski County Hawkinsville 99 Glasco*ck County Gibson 100 Dublin City Dublin
Methodology
The following variables contributed to the ranking: number of students (K-12), graduation rate, school funding per student, student to teacher ratio, percent of students scoring above proficient in standardized state Math test, percent of students scoring above proficient in standardized state Reading and Language test. Data from a total of 10,247 public school districts were used to compute a score for each school district. The following states were omitted due to lack of sufficient data: Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, and Virginia. Note that high schools in some states have their own independent districts.