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Best Public Schools in Waycross, GA

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Georgia rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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Test scores delayed: 2026 rankings for Georgia do not yet include English Language Arts scores, which will not be released by the Georgia Department of Education until winter 2026.

At a glance

Schools

5,927

Students

Districts

Top rankedRuskin Elementary School295^th of 1,219 Georgia elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Williams Heights Elementary School up 158 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Memorial Drive Elementary School 10.8 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Georgia cities →See the top-ranked Georgia schools →

Summary:

Waycross, Georgia is served by 10 schools spanning elementary through high school, including 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 2 high schools, with the vast majority belonging to the Ware County district and one specialized facility under the Department of Juvenile Justice.

For parents, the standout elementary schools are Ruskin Elementary School and Waresboro Elementary School, both earning 4 stars. Ruskin made a dramatic leap of over 200 ranking positions to reach the 76th percentile and leads all elementary schools in 5th-grade science (62.1% proficiency). Waresboro shows consistent strength in math, with all grade levels exceeding state averages. Memorial Drive Elementary School and Williams Heights Elementary School both earn 3 stars and exceed state averages in several subjects, while Center Elementary School sits near the middle of the pack. Wacona Elementary School ranks lowest among elementary schools with 2 stars. At the middle school level, Ware County Middle School and Waycross Middle School are nearly identical in ranking (51st and 50th percentiles) and both achieve exceptional Algebra I proficiency (100% and 90.9%, respectively, versus the 48.1% state average). Ware County High School is the district's clear high school success story, improving 69 ranking positions to the 75th percentile with a 95.4% graduation rate and a 1.6% dropout rate, both far better than state averages.

Several patterns stand out. Science is a district-wide strength, with most schools exceeding state averages at every grade level. Elementary math shows a consistent "4th grade peak," where 4th-grade proficiency outpaces both 3rd and 5th grades across multiple schools. Notably, high-poverty schools like Ruskin and Memorial Drive (both with 100% free/reduced lunch rates) achieve above-average results, showing that economic challenges don't determine outcomes. However, chronic absenteeism varies widely, from 13.2% at Wacona to 24.6% at Ware County High, and the highest-spending school (Ruskin at $17,519 per student) is also the top-ranked, though spending doesn't clearly correlate with results elsewhere. The overall upward momentum — with Ware County High, Ruskin, and Williams Heights all improving significantly in one year — suggests recent instructional efforts are gaining traction.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				Milestones Assessment Algebra I (2026)	Milestones Assessment Biology (2026)	Milestones Assessment United States History (2026)	Milestones Assessment Mathematics (2026)						Milestones Assessment Science (2026)		Milestones Assessment Social Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Milestones Assessment Algebra I End of Course	Milestones Assessment Biology End of Course	Milestones Assessment United States History End of Course	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	Milestones Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 5th Grade	Milestones Assessment Science 8th Grade	Milestones Assessment Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Waycross Regional Youth Detention Center	Public	5-12	3275 Harris Rd	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Department of Juvenile Justice	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-6680	7	2	3.5		3 (42.9%)	4 (57.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Williams Heights Elementary School	Public	K-5	705 Dewey St	Waycross	31501	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2399	436	33	13.3	80.3%	139 (31.9%)	226 (51.8%)	25 (5.7%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (9.2%)	57.9	454^th of 1219 public elementary schools	62.8%		46.1	612^th of 1238 public elementary schools	50.6%	158				33.4	60.5	45.6				55.9			$15,748	$1,149	$14,599
Center Elementary School	Public	K-5	2114 Dorothy St	Waycross	31501	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2366	470	35	13.4	95.7%	109 (23.2%)	269 (57.2%)	49 (10.4%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (8.3%)	47.5	583^rd of 1219 public elementary schools	52.2%		46.7	609^th of 1238 public elementary schools	50.8%	26				44.0	61.6	30.3				36.8			$14,702	$1,429	$13,274
Ruskin Elementary School	Public	K-5	3550 Valdosta Hwy	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2325	363	31	11.8	100.0%	157 (43.3%)	119 (32.8%)	62 (17.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (6.3%)	72.6	295^th of 1219 public elementary schools	75.8%		59.7	437^th of 1238 public elementary schools	64.7%	142				50.0	54.4	57.6				62.1			$17,519	$2,696	$14,823
Wacona Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3101 State St	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2362	885	47	18.8	86.4%	510 (57.6%)	240 (27.1%)	78 (8.8%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	51 (5.8%)	38.9	687^th of 1219 public elementary schools	43.6%		41.6	664^th of 1238 public elementary schools	46.4%	23				24.0	52.1	36.5				38.5			$15,307	$1,411	$13,896
Waresboro Elementary School	Public	K-5	3379 W Church St	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2393	429	35	12.4	81.8%	242 (56.4%)	104 (24.2%)	48 (11.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (7.5%)	69	334^th of 1219 public elementary schools	72.6%		58.3	459^th of 1238 public elementary schools	62.9%	125				49.4	57.5	54.8				56.4			$14,764	$1,297	$13,467
Memorial Drive Elementary School	Public	K-5	2580 Ambrose St	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2327	346	32	10.8	100.0%	166 (48.0%)	125 (36.1%)	16 (4.6%)	10 (2.9%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (7.5%)	55.8	484^th of 1219 public elementary schools	60.3%		51.6	545^th of 1238 public elementary schools	56.0%	61				43.4	46.0	49.2				49.2			$16,914	$2,249	$14,666
Ware County High School	Public	9-12	700 Victory Dr	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2351	1,633	116	14.1	84.1%	715 (43.8%)	651 (39.9%)	143 (8.8%)	12 (0.7%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	107 (6.6%)	59	115^th of 455 public high schools	74.7%		47.1	183^rd of 451 public high schools	59.4%	68	58.7	53.5	41.5										$13,956	$849	$13,107
Ware County Middle School	Public	6-8	2301 Cherokee St	Waycross	31503	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2341	752	65	11.6	80.5%	401 (53.3%)	209 (27.8%)	81 (10.8%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	55 (7.3%)	46.1	286^th of 578 public middle schools	50.5%		45.3	297^th of 585 public middle schools	49.2%	11	100.0						30.8	27.7	39.1		37.7	34.2	$14,743	$1,118	$13,625
Waycross Middle School	Public	6-8	700 Central Ave	Waycross	31501	Ware County	Ware County	No	No	No	Yes	(912) 287-2333	606	48	12.6	90.8%	222 (36.6%)	293 (48.3%)	44 (7.3%)	7 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (6.6%)	45.8	288^th of 578 public middle schools	50.2%		40.2	339^th of 585 public middle schools	42.1%	51	90.9						31.6	21.8	45.7		35.3	36.7	$14,744	$1,364	$13,380

Cities Near Waycross

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Blackshear	5.72 mi	4	22^nd
Hoboken	13.57 mi	1	26^th
Patterson	16.57 mi	1	20^th
Nahunta	19.39 mi	4	102^nd
Alma	21.53 mi	4	79^th

See the top GA Georgia cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Georgia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.