Oconee high schools among top in the nation, according to U.S. News and World Report

Stephanie Allen, Athens Banner-Herald
·2 min read

Oconee County high schools are among the top 7% in the nation, with North Oconee High School one of the top 20 high schools in Georgia, based on this year's rankings from U.S. News and World Report.

U.S. News and World Report released its 2022 rankings for best high schools, which looks at six factors: college readiness, math and reading proficiency, math and reading performance, college curriculum breadth, underserved student performance and graduation rate.

Oconee County high schools received high marks with North Oconee High ranked at 639 and Oconee County High School at 1,332 out of 17,843 public high schools. That placed North Oconee in the top 3% nationally and Oconee High in the top 7%.

This was a slight improvement for North Oconee, which ranked 660 in 2021. Oconee High, however, slipped in its ranking from 1,150 in 2021.

North Oconee came in at 19 among Georgia high schools with Oconee County at 35.

“Congratulations to both North Oconee High School and Oconee County High School for their well-deserved recognition in consistently being named among the nation’s best high schools,” said Superintendent Jason L. Branch in a news release.

In Athens, Clarke Central High School was ranked in the top 27% at 4,757. Cedar Shoals High School came in at 7,733. Classic City High School was not in the rankings.

Clarke Central improved its ranking, having placed 4,929 in 2021, while Cedar Shoals dropped from last year's 7,472.

Clarke Central was ranked 108 in Georgia; Cedar Shoals was 171.

The Clarke County School District declined to issue a statement about the rankings. Communications Director Scott Thompson said the district will comment on state reports as well as the most current CCRPI (College and Career Ready Performance Index) data, when it is released.

Other Athens-area high schools and their rankings:

  • Apalachee High: 8,345 nationally; 192 in Georgia

  • East Jackson Comprehensive High: 3,622 nationally; 81 in Georgia

  • Jackson County High : 4,289 nationally; 97 in Georgia

  • Jefferson High: 1,861 nationally; 40 in Georgia

  • Madison County High: 5,358 nationally; 117 in Georgia

  • Oglethorpe County High: 6,056 nationally; 128 in Georgia

  • Winder-Barrow High : 10,528 nationally; 242 in Georgia

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Oconee high schools among top in nation, per U.S. News & World Report