24 public K-12 schools in Jackson from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
National city placement
According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Jackson has more public-school enrollment than 85% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Jackson's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.
11 of Jackson's 24 listed schools use NCES's combined or “other” grade-level classification. Citywide averages therefore blend campuses serving unusually broad or nonstandard grade spans with conventional elementary, middle, and high schools. Grade configuration is a first-order comparison here, not a minor label.
The 47-point gap between Madison Academic Magnet High School and Alexander Elementary School shows the range hidden by Jackson's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.
Jackson school enrollment ranges from 33 students (lowest) to 903 students (highest), a spread of 870 students. That spread is wider than typical and predicts noticeable gaps in service quality between the highest and lowest areas. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
| # | School | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Madison Academic Magnet High School | 59 |
| 2. | Community Montessori School | 54 |
| 3. | West Tennessee School for the Deaf | 52 |
| 4. | Jackson Central-Merry Early College High | 44 |
| 5. | Jackson Academic Steam Academy | 42 |
| 6. | Pope School | 41 |
| 7. | Thelma Barker Elementary | 39 |
| 8. | East Elementary School | 35 |
| 9. | Jackson Central Merry Middle School | 35 |
| 10. | Northeast Middle School | 32 |
| 11. | South Side High School | 32 |
| 12. | Nova Early Learning Center | 32 |
| 13. | Jackson Career Technology Magnet Elementary | 31 |
| 14. | Liberty Technology Magnet High School | 30 |
| 15. | Rose Hill School | 30 |
| 16. | Andrew Jackson Elementary School | 29 |
| 17. | Isaac Lane Technology Magnet Elementary | 27 |
| 18. | North Side High School | 26 |
| 19. | Arlington Elementary School | 25 |
| 20. | Jackson Central Merry High School | 24 |
| 21. | Lincoln Elementary School | 22 |
| 22. | West-Bemis Middle School | 21 |
| 23. | North Parkway Middle School | 20 |
| 24. | Alexander Elementary School | 12 |
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
Madison Academic Magnet High School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Jackson schools in this federal-data comparison at 59/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.
Jackson has 24 public schools with a total enrollment of 12,174 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 18.8:1.
Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Tennessee →
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.
