Pope High School

Pope High School in Marietta, GA, is a top-performing public high school serving 1,793 students in grades 9-12 within the Cobb County School District, and it has earned a 5-star rating every year for the past decade, consistently ranking among the top 20 schools in the state.

Pope's academic record is exceptional across nearly every subject. In Biology, 81.4% of students scored proficient or better in the most recent year—a 34-point advantage over the state average—and the school has stayed above 81% for four straight years. U.S. History is another standout, with 78.6% proficiency versus 38.5% statewide. The school also posts a 98.2% graduation rate, well above both district and state averages, and chronic absenteeism has dropped from 17.1% to 12.9% over four years. Perhaps most impressive is Pope's work with special education students, who rank 3rd out of 338 schools statewide—a rare achievement where a subgroup outperforms the school's already-high overall ranking. Hispanic students also rank in the top 3% statewide, showing strong support across diverse learners.

Compared to nearby schools, Pope sits in an elite East Cobb cluster alongside Lassiter High School and Walton High School, all ranked in the top 20. However, just a few miles away, Sprayberry High School and Wheeler High School rank 133rd and 160th, respectively. Algebra I is Pope's relative weak spot—67.3% proficiency is strong but shows more year-to-year fluctuation than other subjects. Still, with efficient spending of $13,459 per student and a decade of never ranking below 20th in the state, Pope offers families a consistently excellent education.