Since the inception of the College Success Award by GreatSchools.org, three Fayette County high schools have won the award each time, and despite the unprecedented disruptions to education this year, the schools have earned the award again.

McIntosh High, Starr’s Mill High, and Whitewater High are among 2,158 award-winning schools, representing about 21% of eligible public high schools across 29 states, selected to receive the 2020 College Success Award. They are also three of 81 schools in Georgia that earned the award.

Schools receiving the College Success Award have demonstrated a successful track record of graduating students who later enroll in two or four-year colleges, are ready for college-level coursework, and continue to their second year of college, according to available data from each state.

To earn the award, schools must be in the top 30th percentile in the state for an average of the following college success indicators: college remediation, college enrollment, college entrance exam participation/scores (SAT/ACT), college persistence (enrolling in the second year of college) and high school graduation. Each winning school also has to be above average for each of these indicators individually.

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