Mahadev Maitri Foundation
US Initiatives

Tennessee

1,871 Schools148 Districts996K Students
$16,278
Avg Per-Pupil Spend
+13% nat'l
—
Free Lunch Rate
National avg 52.2%
91.6%
Graduation Rate
+5.1pp vs nat'l
38/100
Opportunity Score
Limited
⇄ Compare Tennessee with another state
About Tennessee Public Schools

Tennessee has been one of the fastest-improving states on the NAEP national assessment over the past decade, a trajectory attributed to the Tennessee Diploma Project standards overhaul, the ambitious TNReady assessment system, significant investment in educator training, and a culture of data-driven accountability that grew out of the Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) — one of the most sophisticated student growth measurement systems in the country. Memphis-Shelby County Schools, created by a controversial 2013 consolidation of Memphis City and Shelby County schools, is the largest district and faces significant poverty and resource challenges. The Achievement School District, designed to take over the bottom 5% of schools and hand them to charter operators, produced mixed results and was restructured into the Innovation Zone model. Tennessee recently enacted universal school choice legislation.

State Snapshot
State BoardTennessee State Board of Education
AssessmentTNReady
Compulsory Ages6–17
School CalendarSchool year begins in early August; state law sets the earliest start date
Total Enrollment996,117
Public Schools1,871
Largest District
Memphis-Shelby County Schools
108K students
Highest Per-Pupil
Carroll County
$573,833/student
Top Graduation Rate
Bartlett
98.0% grad rate
School Districts (148)
Per-pupil spending in Tennessee ranges from $5,977 to $573,833 across districts with available data. State avg: $16,278.
DistrictSchoolsStudentsPer-PupilGrad RateFree LunchOpp.
Large Districts — 10,000+ Students
Memphis-Shelby County Schools216108K$15,292↓6%81.7%↓11%—32
Davidson County15980K$17,219↑6%84.2%↓8%—38
Knox County9361K$11,040↓32%92.3%—36
Rutherford County5151K$11,822↓27%95.7%—39
Hamilton County7946K$12,591↓23%87.1%—37
Williamson County5042K$12,699↓22%96.4%↑5%—46
Montgomery County4238K$12,015↓26%94.3%—35
Sumner County4929K$11,062↓32%94.7%—41
Wilson County2520K$11,283↓31%96.2%↑5%—40
Sevier County3214K$14,655↓10%93.4%—38
Maury County2313K$11,315↓30%89.0%—40
Madison County2612K$11,117↓32%87.9%—33
Putnam County2212K$10,860↓33%91.6%—40
Robertson County2312K$10,316↓37%95.9%—43
Hamblen County1810K$11,692↓28%94.5%—37
Bradley County1710K$11,709↓28%93.4%—33
Tipton County1410K$11,124↓32%95.5%—36
Blount County2210K$12,120↓26%93.0%—38
Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students
Murfreesboro139,408$12,255↓25%——35
Collierville109,259$13,453↓17%95.0%—31
Bedford County159,047$10,343↓36%91.4%—42
Bartlett108,946$13,364↓18%98.0%↑7%—43
Sullivan County178,380$11,930↓27%92.0%—38
Washington County168,281$10,975↓33%94.1%—36
Dickson County178,129$11,402↓30%94.2%—42
Johnson City138,001$12,614↓23%92.0%—31
Kingsport127,784$12,059↓26%94.0%—36
Cumberland County127,216$10,016↓38%92.8%—39
Lawrence County147,032$10,977↓33%97.2%↑6%—34
Jefferson County146,995$11,202↓31%96.0%—37
Warren County126,477$12,663↓22%91.0%—40
Roane County186,344$12,876↓21%96.7%↑6%—39
Anderson County196,317$13,496↓17%95.5%—36
Hawkins County186,304$13,150↓19%94.0%—38
Greene County186,265$11,067↓32%92.2%—35
Germantown76,026$14,176↓13%95.0%——
Achievement School District165,966—71.7%↓22%—32
Cheatham County145,833$10,582↓35%92.0%—41
Cleveland95,768$11,804↓27%90.0%——
Maryville75,619$12,664↓22%95.0%—40
Marshall County105,406$10,957↓33%94.0%—38
Campbell County165,294$11,283↓31%91.2%—37
McMinn County95,225$10,550↓35%93.1%—39
Union County105,005$5,977↓63%92.0%—37
Franklin County115,004$11,739↓28%91.5%—39
Loudon County94,979$11,084↓32%94.6%—36
Johnson County84,971$7,531↓54%97.5%↑6%—35
Oak Ridge84,961$16,00592.0%——
Arlington44,803$10,918↓33%97.0%↑6%——
Monroe County124,788$11,870↓27%93.4%——
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Frequently Asked Questions
Data sourced from NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and Opportunity Atlas. Figures reflect the most recent available federal dataset (2021-22 / 2022-23). Learn more about our data sources.