Fulton County Schools Makes Georgia's Best Ranking

FULTON COUNTY, GA — Fulton County Schools has been named a top district in Georgia, according to data compiler Niche which ranked Georgia's best school districts for the 2019-20 school year. The rankings were released Monday as part of the website's 2020 K-12 rankings.

Fulton County Schools has more than 96,000 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 15 to 1. According to state test scores, 47 percent of students are at least proficient in math and 50 percent in reading.

Each Georgia school district received a letter grade in the following categories: Academics; Diversity; Teachers; College Prep; Clubs & Activities; Health & Safety; Administration; Sports; Food; and Resources & Facilities.

Fulton County earned a score of "A" in most categories except teachers, administration, health and safety, and resources and facilities, where it earned a score of "B." In the food category, it earned a "C."

Niche ranks nearly 100,000 schools and districts based on statistics and millions of opinions from students and parents.

To arrive at the rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data, and ratings collected from Niche users. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

Fulton Schools was ranked in multiple categories among other Georgia schools, including:

• No. 6 for most diverse school districts
• No. 20 for best school district for athletes
• No. 30 for best school districts

Compared to schools in the metro Atlanta area, Fulton ranked:

• No. 6 for most diverse school districts
• No. 7 for best school district for athletes
• No. 13 best school district in Atlanta area

Nationally, Fulton ranks No. 194 out of the more than 11,000 districts ranked most diverse school districts, and No. 405 for best districts for athletes.

The report included reviews from parents, teachers, district alumni and current students.

A student said, "My experience with Fulton Schools thus far has been very enjoyable due to the kindness of the teachers and staff at all of the schools I have attended in the county. Although I have been in Fulton County since I have started school and have loved it, I will say the counseling department needs small improvements with organization and efficiency. My experience overall has been very good and memorable in the best way!"

A parent wrote, "Fulton County Schools is a very progressive county. My children have been able to get an excellent education taking both in school and online classes. The administration is very responsive to concerns. I highly recommend this district!"

The top-ranked school district in Georgia is Buford City Schools. Niche gave the school system an A or an A+ in every category. Last year, Buford was also No. 1. (See last year's list as a comparison: Georgia's Best School Districts: New Rankings Released)

Here the top 30 from the list of top school districts in Georgia as ranked by Niche.com:

1. Buford City Schools
2. Oconee County Schools
3. Forsyth County Schools
4. Decatur City Schools
5. Jefferson City Schools
6. Fayette County Public Schools
7. Carrollton City Schools
8. Bremen City Schools
9. Calhoun City Schools
10. Cartersville City Schools
11. Camden County Schools
12. Pierce County Schools
13. Union County Schools
14. Cherokee County Schools
15. Monroe County Schools
16. Cobb County Schools
17. Trion City Schools
18. Bleckley County Schools
19. Houston County Schools
20. Madison County Schools
21. Gwinnett County Public Schools
22. Rabun County Schools
23. Morgan County Schools
24. Columbia County Schools
25. Heard County Schools
26. Georgia Academy for the Blind
27. Harris County Schools
28. Lowndes County Schools
29. Habersham County Schools
30. Fulton County Schools

Niche looked at more than 94,000 public schools, 4,100 private schools and nearly 11,000 school districts across the country. The rankings are meant to help parents and students find schools that best fit their needs.

"Unlike traditional school rankings, which rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance, Niche's rankings provide a real-life view of what it's like to attend a given school," the company said in a news release.

Comments from current students, alumni, and parents are included in the analysis, as well as observations about things like campus life, extracurricular activities, sports options, diversity, and programs for gifted and special needs students.

"Parents and students need more than test-score data," Luke Skurman, CEO at Niche, said in the news release. "They need to understand what it's really like to attend a school before they start the application or registration process."