Both North Oconee High School and Oconee County High School have been named in the top 2% of high schools nationwide by U.S. News and World Report. Oconee County was the only system in Northeast Georgia to have any schools rank in the top 5%.

“For both of our high schools to consistently be ranked as the best in the nation is a testament to the sustained excellence in Oconee County Schools,” said Superintendent Jason Branch. “We are blessed to have the very best educators, parents, and students in the state of Georgia, and I commend our community of learners for their efforts and achievement.”

To create the rankings, U.S. News and World Report started with more than 28,800 public high schools across the nation. Of those, less than 6,000 received commendation, with both high schools being the only in Northeast Georgia ranked in the top 25 for the state; in fact, the system has the only high schools in the region ranked in the top 50 statewide.

The areas used to guide rankings were student performance on state-level math and reading assessments, subgroup performance on those assessments, high school graduation rate, and student participation in Advanced Placement exams.