Tennessee’s top- and lowest-performing schools, districts: See if yours made the list
By: Rachel Wegner
The latest annual list of Tennessee’s highest- and lowest-performing public schools and districts was released Friday by the Tennessee Department of Education.
Schools can receive one of four designations, the highest of which is “reward” status. A total of 377 schools across 97 districts earned reward status in the 2023-24 school year. That’s down slightly from the previous year, which saw 400 reward schools across 98 districts.
Districts can receive one of five designations, with the highest being “exemplary.” The state named 10 exemplary districts.
The department considered the following categories to determine each designation:
- Preparing students to be proficient
- Accelerating student learning
- Encouraging students to attend school regularly
- Preparing students for postsecondary success
- Supporting English learners as they build language skills
Tennessee Commissioner of Education Lizzette Reynolds said the list of reward schools and exemplary districts is a testament to their dedication to fostering learning and growth.
“This annual recognition is the result of our teachers, along with school and district leaders, who are committed to student success every day, and I commend each of you for your valiant efforts in supporting achievement for our Tennessee students,” Reynolds said in a news release.
Here’s a look at the state’s top- and lowest-performing schools and districts in the 2023-24 school year.
Tennessee reward schools in 2023-24
Schools earn “reward” status if they have high levels of performance, met specific goals to improve performance or both.
Tennessee’s lowest-performing schools in 2023-24
Schools that fall into the bottom 5% of student performance or have a graduation rate below 67% are designated by the federal government as in need of “comprehensive support and improvement.” Tennessee also refers to those a “priority” schools.
Tennessee exemplary districts 2023-24
Districts earn “exemplary” status if they have an overall district performance score of 3.1 or higher on a 4-point scale. Here are the 10 districts that made the latest list:
- Alcoa City Schools
- Arlington Community Schools
- Bells City Schools
- Clinton City Schools
- Collierville Schools
- Dayton City Schools
- Jackson County Schools
- Lebanon Special School District
- Milan Special School District
- Van Buren County Schools
Tennessee districts in need of improvement 2023-24
Districts receive “in need of improvement” status if their overall score falls into the bottom 5% of all districts. Here are the 10 districts that made the latest list:
- Decatur County Schools
- Hancock County Schools
- Hardeman County Schools
- Humboldt City Schools
- Johnson County Schools
- Lawrence County Schools
- Lewis County Schools
- Perry County Schools
- Sequatchie County Schools
- Tennessee Schools for the Deaf
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