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1 / 25#25. Burke County High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Burke County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 1,170 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
Best high schools in the Augusta metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Augusta metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Silver Bluff High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Aiken County Public Schools, SC
- Enrollment: 708 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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3 / 25#23. Aiken High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Aiken County Public Schools, SC
- Enrollment: 1,195 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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4 / 25#22. Richmond County Technical Career Magnet School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Richmond County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 477 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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5 / 25#21. Victory Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: North Augusta, SC
- Enrollment: 149 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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6 / 25#20. Aiken Scholars Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Aiken County Public Schools, SC
- Enrollment: 182 (30:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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7 / 25#19. Francis Hugh Wardlaw Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Johnston, SC
- Enrollment: 233 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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8 / 25#18. South Aiken High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Aiken County Public Schools, SC
- Enrollment: 1,356 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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9 / 25#17. Fox Creek Charter High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: South Carolina Public Charter School District, SC
- Enrollment: 644 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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10 / 25#16. Grovetown High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Columbia County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 2,236 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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11 / 25#15. Evans High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Columbia County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 1,887 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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12 / 25#14. Johnson Magnet
- School type: Public School
- Location: Richmond County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 637 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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13 / 25#13. North Augusta High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Aiken County Public Schools, SC
- Enrollment: 1,719 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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14 / 25#12. South Aiken Baptist Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Aiken, SC
- Enrollment: 229 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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15 / 25#11. Augusta Christian Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Martinez, GA
- Enrollment: 657 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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16 / 25#10. Curtis Baptist School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Augusta, GA
- Enrollment: 324 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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17 / 25#9. Alleluia Community School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Augusta, GA
- Enrollment: 121 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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18 / 25#8. Greenbrier High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Columbia County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 1,801 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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19 / 25#7. Lakeside High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Columbia County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 1,940 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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20 / 25#6. Aquinas High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Augusta, GA
- Enrollment: 231 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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21 / 25#5. Evans Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Martinez, GA
- Enrollment: 16 (2:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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22 / 25#4. Mead Hall Episcopal School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Aiken, SC
- Enrollment: 378 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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23 / 25#3. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Richmond County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 716 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. Westminster Schools of Augusta
- School type: Private School
- Location: Augusta, GA
- Enrollment: 596 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. Augusta Preparatory Day School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Augusta, GA
- Enrollment: 464 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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