Best High Schools in Decatur, GA

The city of Decatur, Georgia is home to 6 high schools, including Decatur High School, Southwest DeKalb High School, Columbia High School, Towers High School, The Anchor School, and DeKalb Regional Youth Detention Center. These schools serve students across the City Schools of Decatur and DeKalb County districts.

Decatur High School stands out as the top-performing school in the area, consistently ranking among the top 56 high schools in Georgia and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school boasts strong academic performance, with over 68% of students proficient or better in American Literature and Composition, 79.5% in Biology, and 48.4% in US History on the Georgia Milestones assessments. In contrast, the other high schools in the area have significantly lower test scores and rankings, with Columbia High School and Towers High School ranked in the bottom quartile of Georgia high schools. These lower-performing schools also have much higher rates of free/reduced lunch recipients, indicating higher levels of economic disadvantage among the student populations.

The Anchor School, a public charter school serving grades 6-12, has a small enrollment of 86 students and its test scores in 6th and 7th grade English Language Arts and Math are well below the state averages. The DeKalb Regional Youth Detention Center, which serves students in grades 5-12, has extremely low enrollment (7 students) and a very low student-teacher ratio (1.7:1), likely due to the specialized nature of the facility and the unique needs of the student population.