High Schools in Clarke County

Clarke County is home to three high schools serving grades 9-12: Clarke Central High School, Cedar Shoals High School, and Classic City High School, with enrollments ranging from just 58 students at Classic City to nearly 1,900 at Clarke Central.

Clarke Central is currently the district's top performer, ranking in the 42nd percentile statewide, though its ranking has slipped over the past two years. It leads the district in Biology proficiency (40.4%) and matches the state average for dropout rate (2.4%). Cedar Shoals, however, is the district's comeback story—it jumped from the 19th to the 38th percentile in a single year, with proficiency gains across every subject, including a leap in U.S. History from 23.4% to 35.1%. Despite this progress, Cedar Shoals still trails Clarke Central in most metrics. Classic City, a small alternative school with an 8.2:1 student-teacher ratio, faces severe challenges: it ranks in the bottom 3% of Georgia high schools, has near-zero proficiency in Algebra and Biology, and posts an 80% chronic absenteeism rate.

Graduation rates follow a similar pattern, with Clarke Central (84.1%) ahead of Cedar Shoals (79.5%) and Classic City (76.3%), all below the state average of 87.2%. Chronic absenteeism is a systemic issue across the district, with all three schools exceeding the state rate of 17.7%—Clarke Central at 38.2%, Cedar Shoals at 42.8%, and Classic City at a staggering 80%. Notably, Classic City spends $32,032 per student, nearly double Clarke Central's $17,068, yet achieves the lowest outcomes, suggesting that engagement and attendance, not funding, are the primary barriers. One bright spot: both Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals outperform the district average in U.S. History, and Cedar Shoals' 100% free/reduced lunch population makes its recent academic gains particularly noteworthy.