Decatur, GA — U.S. News and World Report has released its rankings for best elementary, middle and high schools. Two DeKalb County elementary schools took the top two spots in the Georgia Elementary Schools rankings, and DeKalb School of the Arts landed in the top 10 of the Georgia Middle and High Schools Rankings.

To view the full rankings, click here.

This year, U.S. News and World report published rankings for public elementary and middle schools. Including ranked and unranked schools, U.S. News now lists 118,332 public and private grade schools in its directory; among which U.S. News ranked 79,941 unique public grade schools in 2021. These include 47,325 schools newly ranked as elementary schools and 23,255 as middle schools – some of which are in both rankings, according to a press release.

Elementary Schools

Elementary schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare their students for high school, according to the rankings.

Oakhurst Elementary School, a lower elementary school in City Schools of Decatur, rounded out the top 10 of Georgia Elementary Schools and ranked No. 1 in City Schools of Decatur Elementary Schools. The school serves pre-kindergarten through second grade. Oakhurst’s overall score is 99.28 out of 100.

At Oakhurst Elementary, 87% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math and reading. Compared to the district, Oakhurst students scored higher in math and reading. In the City Schools Of Decatur, 73% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 72% tested at or above that level for math. Students also scored better compared with students across the state.

In Georgia, 42% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 43% tested at or above that level for math.

Westchester Elementary School, a lower elementary school in City Schools of Decatur, ranked No.2 in City Schools of Decatur Elementary Schools and ranked No. 92 in Georgia Elementary Schools. The school serves pre-kindergarten through second grade. Westchester’s overall score is 92.68 out of 100.

At Westchester Elementary, 82% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 77% scored at or above that level for reading. Compared to the district and the state, Westchester students scored higher in math and reading.

In City Schools of Decatur, Glenwood Elementary was ranked No. 3, Fifth Avenue Elementary was ranked No. 4, Clairemont and Winnona Park were ranked No. 5-6 in the district. Talley Street Elementary School was unranked in the Georgia Elementary Schools rankings and did not have a district ranking.

Kittredge Magnet School, a DeKalb County elementary school in Brookhaven, ranked No. 1 in the Georgia Elementary Schools, DeKalb County Elementary Schools and Georgia Magnet Elementary Schools categories. The school serves fourth through sixth grades and has an overall score of 100 out of 100.

Wadsworth Magnet School for High Achievers, a DeKalb County elementary school in Decatur, ranked No. 2 in the Georgia Elementary Schools, DeKalb County Elementary Schools and Georgia Magnet Elementary Schools categories. The school serves fourth through sixth grades, and has an overall score was 99.84 out of 100.

Drew Charter School, a charter elementary school in Atlanta Public Schools, ranked No. 2 in Georgia Charter Elementary Schools, No. 6 in Atlanta Public Schools Elementary Schools and No. 55 in Georgia Elementary Schools. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school’s overall score is 95.66 out of 100.

At Drew, 78% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 70% scored at or above that level for reading. Drew Charter students scored better at reading and math compared with students across the district and the state. In Atlanta Public Schools, 34% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading and math.

Toomer Elementary School, a charter elementary school in Atlanta Public Schools, ranked No. 30 in Atlanta Public Schools Elementary Schools and toward the end of the Georgia Elementary Schools rankings. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. At Toomer, 27% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math and reading. Toomer students scored below the district and state averages in reading and math.

Middle Schools

Middle schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare their students for high school, according to the U.S. News and World Report website.

Renfroe Middle School in City Schools of Decatur ranked No. 80 in Georgia Middle Schools. The school serves grades six through eight. The Renfroe’s overall score is 85.64 out of 100.

At Renfroe Middle School, 63% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 69% scored at or above that level for reading. Renfroe scored below the district’s average scores in reading and math, but scored higher than the state averages.

In DeKalb County, 37% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 35% tested at or above that level for math. In Georgia, 42% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 43% tested at or above that level for math.

DeKalb School of the Arts in Avondale Estates ranked No. 1 in DeKalb County Middle Schools and No. 10 in Georgia Middle Schools. The school has 431 students and serves eighth through 12th grades. The school’s overall score is 98.36 out of 100.

At Dekalb School of the Arts, 72% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 92% scored at or above that level for reading. The school scored higher in reading and math compared with students across the district and the state. In DeKalb County, 37% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 35% tested at or above that level for math.

DeKalb Elementary School of the Arts in Avondale Estates ranked No. 2 in DeKalb County Middle School, No 20 in DeKalb County Elementary Schools, No. 40 in Georgia Middle Schools and No. 362 in Georgia Elementary School. The school has 544 and serves grades kindergarten through seventh.

At Dekalb Elementary School of the Arts, 48% of students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 65% scored at or above that level for reading. The school scored higher than students across the district and state.

The Museum School Avondale Estates ranked No. 7 in DeKalb County Middle Schools, No. 15 in DeKalb County Elementary Schools, No. 9 in Georgia Charter Middle Schools and No. 8 in Georgia Charter Elementary Schools.

Druid Hills Middle School ranked No. 11 in DeKalb County District Middle Schools and No. 245 in Georgia Middle Schools. Tucker Middle School ranked No. 13 in DeKalb County District Middle Schools and No. 301 in Georgia Middle Schools.

Drew Charter also ranked No. 2 in Atlanta Public Schools District Middle Schools, No. 3 in Georgia Charter Middle Schools and No. 55 in Georgia Middle Schools. The school has 886 middle and high school students. It also serves grades six through 12. The school’s overall score is 90.18 out of 100.

At Drew, 55% of middle and high school students scored at or above the proficient level for math, and 60% scored at or above that level for reading. Drew Charter students scored better at reading and math compared with students across the district and the state. In Atlanta Public Schools, 34% of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading and math.

King Middle School in Atlanta, ranked No. 16 in Atlanta Public Schools District Middle Schools and toward the end of the Georgia Middle Schools rankings. King Middle School has 857 students and serves sixth through eighth grades. The school scored below the state and district averages.

High Schools 

High Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation, and how well they prepare students for college, according to the rankings website.

Decatur High School is ranked No. 24 in Georgia High Schools, No. 18 in Atlanta Metro High Schools and No. 706 in the national rankings. The school has 1,456 students and serves grades nine through 12. The school’s overall score is 96.05 out of 100. At DHS, students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement coursework and exams. The AP participation rate at Decatur High School is 77%.

U.S. News and World Report calculates the test score values for schools based on student performance on state-required tests and internationally available exams on college-level coursework, like AP and International Baccalaureate exams. DHS’s college readiness index score is 61.1 out of 100.

As for the Georgia Milestones Assessments, 63% of students were proficient or distinguished learners in math and 79% of students were proficient or distinguished learners in reading. The school scored above the state averages in each subject.

DeKalb School of the Arts also ranked No. 1 in DeKalb County High Schools, No. 3 in Atlanta Metro Area High Schools, No. 6 in Georgia High Schools and No. 254 in the national rankings. The school’s overall score is 98.58 out of 100. The AP participation rate at DeKalb School of the Arts is 95%.

The school’s college readiness index score is 70.1 out of 100. In terms of the Georgia Milestones Assessments, 74% of students were proficient or distinguished learners in math and 93% of students were proficient or distinguished learners in reading. The school scored above the state averages in each subject.

Druid Hills High School ranked No. 7 in DeKalb County High Schools, No. 77 in Atlanta Metro Area High Schools and No. 115 in Georgia High Schools.

Tucker High School ranked No. 10 in DeKalb County High Schools, No. 117 in Atlanta Metro Area High Schools and No. 217 in Georgia High Schools.

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