U.S. News and World Report has released its yearly rankings of public high schools based on data from the 2013-14 school year.

Decatur High School ranked #403 nationally and #13 in the state of Georgia, based on U.S. News’ methodology. DHS received a Gold rating from U.S. News with this summary description…

Decatur High School is ranked 13th within Georgia. Students have the opportunity to take Advanced Placement® coursework and exams. The AP® participation rate at Decatur High School is 78 percent. The student body makeup is 50 percent male and 50 percent female, and the total minority enrollment is 45 percent. Decatur High School is the only high school in the Decatur City.

Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology in Lawrenceville ranked #1 in Georgia, followed by Columbus High School in Columbus, GA and DeKalb School of the Arts rounded out the top 3 GA High Schools.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Don points out Decatur High School ranked as the 9th best high school in the state and 233rd best in the nation in a new ranking by the Washington Post.

What’s the formula?

The formula is simple: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors. While not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the rating can reveal the level of a high school’s commitment to preparing average students for college.

What Georgia schools top Decatur?  Here’s the full list, but for those of you exhausted after a week of clicking-thru, here’s 1-8…

1. Walton High School in Marietta
2. DeKalb School for the Arts in Avondale
3. Riverwood International School in Sandy Springs
4. Berkmar High School in Lilburn
5. Alpharetta High School
6. John Davidson Fine Arts in Augusta
7. Morgan County in Madison
8. Columbus High School in Columbus

BTW, it looks like the high ranking high school in the country is in Dallas, TX and the lowest ranking high school on this list is Jackson County High School in Jefferson, GA.