DeKalb Schools Get Middling Grade In New State Ranking

STONE MOUNTAIN, GA — DeKalb County schools received a middling grade in a new ranking of Georgia's best school districts for 2019-20, created by data compiler Niche. The rankings were released Monday as part of the website's 2020 K-12 rankings, and DeKalb failed to make the final numerical rankings of the state's top 75. The system received an overall grade of C+. The system has 101,284 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1. According to state test scores, 29% of students are at least proficient in math and 33% in reading.

Each Georgia school district received a letter grade in the following categories: Academics; Diversity; Teachers; College Prep; Clubs & Activities; Health & Safety; Administration; Sports; Food; and Resources & Facilities. While DeKalb got an A- for its diversity and a B- for clubs and activities, it received C's in academics, teachers, safety and college prep.

To arrive at the rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data, and ratings collected from Niche users. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

The top-ranked school district in Georgia is Buford City Schools. Niche gave the school system an A or an A+ in every category. Last year, Buford was also No. 1. (See last year's list as a comparison: Georgia's Best School Districts: New Rankings Released)

Reviewers praised the system for its diversity and breadth of activities. "I really enjoyed DeKalb County Schools District because it was a district with a lot of diversity, which provided teachers and students knowledge of other backgrounds and culture," one person wrote. "Not many people experience such a great diverse school system unfortunately."

Another wrote, "I like that DeKalb offers a lot of opportunities for students to participate in activities and clubs that reach across all interests. It offers many opportunities for parents to be active in the schools and county decisions although many parents do not attend."

Buford, Forsyth County, Decatur city and Fayette County were the only metro Atlanta school districts to crack the top 10. Cherokee and Cobb counties came in at Nos. 14 and 16, respectively, while Gwinnett came in at No. 21. Fulton County was ranked No. 30. Dawson, Coweta and Hall were ranked 36-38, respectively, while Marietta city schools were ranked No. 41.

Atlanta's public school system also was unranked, with an overall grade of C+.

Here are Georgia's top 10:

1. Buford City Schools
2. Oconee County Schools
3. Forsyth County Schools
4. Decatur City Schools
5. Jefferson City Schools
6. Fayette County Public Schools
7. Carrollton City Schools
8. Bremen City Schools
9. Calhoun City Schools
10. Cartersville City Schools

Read: Georgia's best school districts 2020 ranking.

Niche looked at more than 94,000 public schools, 4,100 private schools and nearly 11,000 school districts across the country. The rankings are meant to help parents and students find schools that best fit their needs.

"Unlike traditional school rankings, which rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance, Niche's rankings provide a real-life view of what it's like to attend a given school," the company said in a news release.Comments from current students, alumni, and parents are included in the analysis, as well as observations about things like campus life, extracurricular activities, sports options, diversity, and programs for gifted and special needs students.

"Parents and students need more than test-score data," Luke Skurman, CEO at Niche, said in the news release. "They need to understand what it's really like to attend a school before they start the application or registration process."