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1 / 25#25. Heritage High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Catoosa County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 1,242 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Best high schools in the Chattanooga 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 Chattanooga 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. Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 355 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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3 / 25#23. Silverdale Baptist Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- Enrollment: 1,307 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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4 / 25#22. Coahulla Creek High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Whitfield County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 986 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Ringgold High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Catoosa County Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 1,053 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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6 / 25#20. Cleveland High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Cleveland City School District, TN
- Enrollment: 1,842 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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7 / 25#19. Grace Baptist Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- Enrollment: 536 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
8 / 25#18. Dalton High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Dalton Public Schools, GA
- Enrollment: 1,382 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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9 / 25#17. Signal Mountain Middle/High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 1,368 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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10 / 25#16. North Sand Mt. School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Jackson County Schools, AL
- Enrollment: 692 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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11 / 25#15. Chattanooga Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- Enrollment: 1,450 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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12 / 25#14. Tennessee Christian Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Cleveland, TN
- Enrollment: 184 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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13 / 25#13. Walker Valley High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Bradley County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 1,498 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Hamilton Heights Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- Enrollment: 68 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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15 / 25#11. Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 792 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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16 / 25#10. Collegedale Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Collegedale, TN
- Enrollment: 355 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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17 / 25#9. Hamilton County Collegiate High at Chattanooga State
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 131 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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18 / 25#8. Notre Dame High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- Enrollment: 388 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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19 / 25#7. Christian Heritage School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Dalton , GA
- Enrollment: 578 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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20 / 25#6. Chattanooga School for the Arts & Sciences (CSAS) - Upper School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 682 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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21 / 25#5. Chattanooga High School Center for Creative Arts
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 649 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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22 / 25#4. STEM School Chattanooga
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hamilton County School District, TN
- Enrollment: 279 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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23 / 25#3. Girls Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- Enrollment: 502 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Baylor School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- Enrollment: 1,079 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. McCallie School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Chattanooga, TN
- Enrollment: 994 (7:1 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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