Best Schools in DeKalb County, Georgia

Introduction

DeKalb County sits just east of Atlanta's city limits, and its schools tell a story that's anything but simple. The county is home to a genuinely diverse mix of communities — from the established neighborhoods of Decatur and Dunwoody to the sprawling suburbs around Tucker and Stone Mountain — and that diversity shows up in its school performance data. Some schools here rank in the 100th percentile nationally. Others are still working their way up. For families trying to figure out where to plant roots or which school to advocate for, understanding the full picture matters.

What makes DeKalb particularly interesting is how many different school systems operate within its borders. DeKalb County Schools is the main district, but the City Schools of Decatur runs its own independent system, and Atlanta Public Schools serves pockets of the county as well. That means neighboring families can be zoned into completely different districts — with meaningfully different outcomes.

The Districts That Stand Out

City Schools of Decatur

Decatur is a small, walkable city that has built a strong identity around its schools, and the data backs that up. Beacon Hill Middle School ranks in the 93rd percentile overall, with particularly strong English (97th percentile) and Science (96th percentile) scores. Decatur High School follows a similar pattern — 90th percentile overall, with Science at the 96th and English at the 93rd. Math is the area where Decatur schools show more room to grow, with Beacon Hill at the 71st percentile and the high school at the 78th in that subject. Still, by most measures, City Schools of Decatur is consistently performing at a high level. It's a district that attracts families specifically for its schools, and that community investment tends to compound over time.

DeKalb County Schools — Magnet and Specialized Programs

The headline performers in DeKalb County Schools aren't the neighborhood zoned schools — they're the magnet and specialized programs, and they're legitimately exceptional. Kittredge Magnet School and Wadsworth Magnet School for High Achievers both rank in the 100th percentile across every subject — English, Math, and Science — making them two of the highest-performing elementary schools in the country by this measure, not just the county. Dekalb Early College Academy in Stone Mountain tops the high school list with a 98th percentile overall ranking, including a 99th percentile in Math. DeKalb School of the Arts in Avondale Estates rounds out the top two at the high school level with a 96th percentile overall.

These schools draw students from across the county, so location isn't really the point — the programs are. If a student qualifies and gets in, the academic environment is among the strongest available in metro Atlanta.

For neighborhood schools within DeKalb County, the picture is more varied. Chamblee High School ranks in the 76th percentile overall, with strong English and Science scores but Math at the 52nd percentile. Dunwoody High School sits at the 65th percentile overall. These schools serve solid communities and have clear strengths, but there's a real gap between them and the county's specialized programs.

Atlanta Public Schools — DeKalb Overlap

A handful of APS schools show up in the DeKalb area rankings, and they're worth noting. Mary Lin Elementary School scores in the 99th percentile overall, with near-perfect marks across all three subjects. Springdale Park Elementary School also lands at the 99th percentile overall. Both serve Atlanta neighborhoods near the DeKalb border, and both are performing at an elite level. Families in those attendance zones are in a strong position academically.

Schools Worth Knowing About

Kittredge Magnet School and Wadsworth Magnet School for High Achievers

It would be easy to bundle these two together and move on, but they deserve a closer look. Scoring in the 100th percentile across English, Math, and Science isn't common — anywhere. These aren't schools that are doing well for a public magnet; they're competing at the top of national rankings. Both are operated by DeKalb County Schools and serve families across the county. If there's one category of school in DeKalb that parents of high-achieving students should be researching and applying to, it starts here.

Dekalb Early College Academy

Tucked into Stone Mountain, this school doesn't always get the same name recognition as schools in Decatur or Dunwoody, but the numbers are striking. A 99th percentile in Math and a 98th percentile overall makes it the top-ranked high school in the county — and it's not particularly close. The early college model gives students access to college coursework while still in high school, which tends to attract motivated, academically serious students. For families in the eastern part of DeKalb who assume the best schools are all on the western side of the county, this school is worth knowing about.

DeKalb School of the Arts

A performing arts magnet ranking in the 96th percentile overall might surprise people who assume arts-focused schools trade academic rigor for creativity. DeKalb School of the Arts in Avondale Estates does both. Its English score of 99th percentile is among the highest of any high school in the county, and Science comes in at the 92nd. Math is at the 92nd percentile as well. It's a school that attracts talented, well-rounded students, and the academic outcomes reflect that.

How We Rank Schools

The School Advocate rankings are built on state assessment data, weighted across three subjects: English counts for 40% of a school's score, Math counts for 40%, and Science makes up the remaining 20%. Scores from more recent school years are weighted more heavily than older data, so the rankings reflect where a school is now — not where it was five years ago. Schools are then compared against all public schools nationally and assigned a percentile ranking, which is what you see reflected in the numbers throughout this post.

This approach keeps things straightforward and consistent, but it's worth remembering that percentile rankings capture academic performance on standardized assessments. They don't capture school culture, extracurriculars, teacher quality in the classroom, or a dozen other things that matter to families. The data is a starting point, not the whole story.

Compare Schools Yourself

The rankings above are a snapshot, but every family's priorities are different. The School Advocate's comparison tool at /compare lets you pull up any schools side by side — whether you're weighing two elementary schools in the same district or trying to decide between a magnet program and a neighborhood school across town. It's free to use, and it pulls from the same underlying data behind every ranking on the site.

Top Elementary Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Kittredge Magnet School	DeKalb County	Atlanta	100	100	100
2	Wadsworth Magnet School for High Achievers	DeKalb County	Decatur	100	100	100
3	Mary Lin Elementary School	Atlanta Public Schools	Atlanta	99	98	99
4	Austin Elementary School	DeKalb County	Dunwoody	98	99	99
5	Springdale Park Elementary School	Atlanta Public Schools	Atlanta	98	98	99
6	Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary School	City Schools of Decatur	Decatur	97	95	95
7	Vanderlyn Elementary School	DeKalb County	Dunwoody	95	93	95
8	Ashford Park Elementary School	DeKalb County	Atlanta	96	92	94
9	Robert Shaw Theme School	DeKalb County	Scottdale	95	91	93
10	Oak Grove Elementary School	DeKalb County	Atlanta	95	95	93

Top Middle Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Beacon Hill Middle School	City Schools of Decatur	Decatur	97	71	93
2	Chamblee Middle School	DeKalb County	Chamblee	94	69	90
3	Peachtree Middle School	DeKalb County	Atlanta	68	66	62
4	The Champion Middle Theme School	DeKalb County	Stone Mountain	74	40	56
5	Tucker Middle School	DeKalb County	Tucker	42	67	56
6	Druid Hills Middle School	DeKalb County	Decatur	61	42	55
7	Henderson Middle School	DeKalb County	Chamblee	49	55	53
8	Chapel Hill Middle School	DeKalb County	Decatur	21	57	36
9	Stephenson Middle School	DeKalb County	Stone Mountain	25	49	35
10	McNair Middle School	DeKalb County	Decatur	13	67	34

Top High Schools

Rank	School	District	City	English	Math	Overall
1	Dekalb Early College Academy	DeKalb County	Stone Mountain	95	99	98
2	DeKalb School of the Arts	DeKalb County	Avondale Estates	99	92	96
3	Decatur High School	City Schools of Decatur	Decatur	93	78	90
4	Chamblee High School	DeKalb County	Chamblee	90	52	76
5	Dunwoody High School	DeKalb County	Dunwoody	81	41	65
6	Lakeside High School	DeKalb County	Atlanta	80	36	59
7	Druid Hills High School	DeKalb County	Atlanta	71	32	59
8	Tucker High School	DeKalb County	Tucker	56	36	47
9	Southwest DeKalb High School	DeKalb County	Decatur	50	26	34
10	Miller Grove High School	DeKalb County	Lithonia	36	43	33

Explore by Grade Level

• Best Elementary Schools in DeKalb County, Georgia
• Best High Schools in DeKalb County, Georgia
• Best Middle Schools in DeKalb County, Georgia