SCCPSS High Schools Rising in U.S. News & World Report Rankings Released this Week

U.S. News & World Report this week released the company’s annual ranking of public high schools across the country.  Several SCCPSS schools increased their rankings and four are listed among the top 100 high schools in the state of Georgia.  U.S. News & World Report has been releasing the rankings each year for 19 years, beginning in 2007.    

The number one public high school in the Savannah area is Savannah Arts Academy. The school is ranked the Number 10 high school in the State of Georgia and Number 361 nationally, placing it among the top 2% of high schools across the country. The school, which reported a 99% graduation rate, with a college-readiness score of 82.2 has been a fixture in the U.S. News & World Report Rankings for years – moving up to Number 10 from 12 last year and 14 the year before.

Savannah Early College High School is the second-highest-ranked school in the Savannah-Chatham County area. The school ranks Number 42 in Georgia and No. 1,471 nationally. Savannah Early College reported a 100% graduation rate and a college-readiness score of 30.4. That is a 36-spot jump from the school’s place at Number 78 on last year’s list and places among the top 10% of schools nationally.

Another SCCPSS school with a 100% graduation rate is Woodville-Tompkins Technical and Career High School.  The school  is ranked Number 3 in Chatham County and at Number 74 in the state of Georgia and in the top 20% of high schools in the nation. The Number 4 school in the district is Islands High School, which is ranked Number 78 in the state of Georgia with a 93% Graduation Rate. Islands moved into the Top 100 this year after a 129 ranking just a year ago! It is also in the top 20% of high schools nationwide.

The rankings evaluate around 27,000 eligible public high schools at the national, state and local levels, with nearly 18,000 ranked. Georgia has 437 Schools ranked and is ranked overall 17^th in the nation based on those standings.  There are 522 high schools in the state of Georgia.  You can find the complete rankings here.

The U.S. News & World Report 2026-2027 Best High Schools national rankings identify top public schools based on six key performance indicators, including student achievement on state-required assessments, strong graduation rates and college readiness measures. Schools are evaluated on how effectively they serve all students, including underserved populations, with college readiness specifically measured through student participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. The rankings consider curriculum breadth and overall student outcomes as well. U.S. News worked with RTI International, a global research firm, to implement the comprehensive ranking methodology, using the most current data from the 2023-2024 school year.