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What's one thing Southwest DeKalb High School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,237
High
DISTRICT 1,183 · STATE 1,120
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DEKALB COUNTY·NCES 130174000679
Southwest DeKalb High School
2863 Kelley Chapel Rd, Decatur, GA 30034 · (678) 874-1902 · DeKalb County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,237 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 33% of Georgia public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Georgia public high schools
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
81 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 15.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
1,229 students
DISTRICT 82% · STATE 74%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 375 | 30% |
| Grade 10 | 309 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 296 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 257 | 21% |
Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on published attendance-zone data from DeKalb County. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Georgia Milestones 2024-25 . % Proficient or DistinguishedMath
19.7%
GA avg 44.6% . -13.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the Georgia Milestones, Georgia's statewide test, about 20 of every 100 students at this school do math at grade level. The Georgia average is about 45 of 100. Math scores are down about 14 points since 2023.
Georgia Milestones results by year
| School year | Math |
|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 19.7% |
| 2023-24 | 33.2% |
% Proficient or Distinguished, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Georgia Milestones. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
22.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.0%
based on GA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 23% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% typical for Georgia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Georgia's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Southwest DeKalb High School
Southwest DeKalb High School's state test result (22.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest DeKalb High School this school | 1,237 | 99.4% | 22.7% |
| Monroe High School Albany | 1,189 | 100.0% | 22.3% |
| Martin Luther King- Jr. High School Lithonia | 1,370 | 100.0% | 11.7% |
| Cedar Grove High School Ellenwood | 1,121 | 100.0% | 17.3% |
| Miller Grove High School Lithonia | 1,073 | 100.0% | 21.4% |
| Dougherty Comprehensive High School Albany | 1,191 | 100.0% | 25.0% |
Matched among Georgia high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Southwest DeKalb High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Georgia | In DeKalb County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 22.7% | #319 of 411 | #16 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 19.7% | #336 of 417 ▼ 106 | #20 of 25 ▼ 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,237 | #197 of 480 | #13 of 29 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #158 of 413 | #13 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 11.3% | #406 of 413 | #25 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.4% | #81 of 425 | #13 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.0% | #172 of 226 | #12 of 14 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
1,237
+21 (+2%) vs 2020
-16% since 1990-91, when it was 1,471
Student : Teacher
15.3:1
was 16.0:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 1,237 | 81 | 15.3:1 | 99% (1,229) |
| 2023-24 | 1,207 | 80.4 | 15.0:1 | 76% (917) |
| 2022-23 | 1,307 | 79.4 | 16.5:1 | 100% (1,307) |
| 2020-21 | 1,216 | 76 | 16.0:1 | 63% (770) |
| 2017-18 | 1,189 | 76 | 15.6:1 | 64% (761) |
| 2015-16 | 1,230 | 79 | 15.6:1 | 69% (850) |
| 2010-11 | 1,667 | 97 | 17.2:1 | 61% (1,012) |
| 2000-01 | 1,819 | 95 | 19.1:1 | 27% (491) |
| 1990-91 | 1,471 | 89 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwest DeKalb High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (1,189 to 1,237); teachers up 7% (76 to 81).
About Southwest DeKalb High School
Southwest DeKalb High School is a medium-sized high school. Its address is in Decatur, Georgia. A federal count lists 1,237 students at the school, in grades 9 through 12.
Southwest DeKalb High School belongs to DeKalb County, a district of 131 schools and 92,088 students.
Black students make up 94% of enrollment at Southwest DeKalb High School. Smaller groups are 3% Hispanic. For comparison, the population of DeKalb County is roughly 51% Black. Southwest DeKalb High School's diversity index is 11%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teacher staffing is 81 full-time equivalents, or about 15.3 students per teacher. That matches the 15.2:1 average for high schools in Georgia fairly closely. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 99%. Among public schools in DeKalb County, the average eligibility rate is 77%.
The allk12 Grade for Southwest DeKalb High School is C. Compared with Georgia public high schools, the school scored higher than 33% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Southwest DeKalb High School is 3.3 points below its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (22.7% versus 26.0%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Georgia.
DeKalb County census figures show that the median household income is $80,644, roughly 47% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the poverty rate is about 10%. There are 154 public schools in DeKalb County, enrolling about 102,960 students in all.
The closest public school, Rainbow Elementary School, is about 0.2 miles from Southwest DeKalb High School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Southwest DeKalb High School is 4th of 7 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Locale data from NCES put Southwest DeKalb High School in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more (Suburb: Large).
Southwest DeKalb High School had 1,216 students in 2020-21 and 1,237 in 2024-25, nearly the same.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Southwest DeKalb High School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
DeKalb County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
765,351
Census ACS
Median income
$80,644
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
154
102,960 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in DeKalb County
- Lakeside High SchoolHigh · 2,234 students
- Dunwoody High SchoolHigh · 2,012 students
- Chamblee High SchoolHigh · 1,867 students
- Cross Keys High SchoolHigh · 1,748 students
- Sequoyah Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,713 students
- Tucker High SchoolHigh · 1,614 students
Other schools in Decatur
- Decatur High SchoolHigh · 1,901 students
- Beacon Hill Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,285 students
- Druid Hills Middle SchoolMiddle · 985 students
- Columbia High SchoolHigh · 877 students
- Towers High SchoolHigh · 876 students
- Peachcrest Elementary SchoolElementary · 729 students
Nearby schools
- Rainbow Elementary School0.2 mi · 337
- DeKalb Brilliance Academy0.6 mi · 357
- The Anchor School1.2 mi · 208
- Bob Mathis Elementary School1.3 mi · 368
- Canby Lane Elementary School1.4 mi · 446
- Chapel Hill Middle School1.6 mi · 614
Frequently asked questions
About Southwest DeKalb High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Southwest DeKalb High School?
Southwest DeKalb High School enrolls approximately 1,237 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Southwest DeKalb High School serve?
Southwest DeKalb High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Southwest DeKalb High School have?
Southwest DeKalb High School employs 81 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.3:1.
How diverse is Southwest DeKalb High School?
Southwest DeKalb High School reports a student body of 0% White, 3% Hispanic, 94% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Southwest DeKalb High School public or private?
Southwest DeKalb High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by DeKalb County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.