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Cookeville, Tennessee - 22 schools
An equity score of 23/100 ranks Putnam County #122 of 140 districts in Tennessee (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $10,052 per pupil, Putnam County ranks #109 of 141 Tennessee districts by per-pupil spending (Tennessee districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
12,032
Total Enrollment
22
Schools
$10,052
Per-Pupil Spending
Combined, Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Putnam County operates 22 public schools serving 12,032 students, placing it in the mid-size range in Tennessee. The school portfolio breaks down into 14 combined, 5 elementary, 3 high schools, giving families a clear picture of grade-band coverage before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Putnam County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $10,052 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 141 Tennessee districts by per-pupil spending. See how Tennessee compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 31.5% local, 45.8% state, and 22.7% federal, a balanced mix across local, state, and federal sources, spreading budget risk across funding cycles rather than concentrating it in one. The district's equity score is 23/100, ranked #122 of 140 in Tennessee against a state average of 38, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 4 of 22 schools offering Advanced Placement (38 AP courses district-wide), a 433.2:1 student-counselor ratio, above both the ASCA benchmark and the roughly 408:1 national average, and 16.7% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 73.3% White, 20.8% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% African American across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is Avery Trace Middle School, with a diversity index of 55.4/100.
Its largest campus is Cookeville High School, enrolling 2,241 students (19% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is T T U Child Development Lab, at 20 students, a 112x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Cookeville High School accounts for 18.6% of all Putnam County student enrollment
That concentration means Putnam County-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Putnam County school enrollment varies 112× across entities
Putnam County school enrollment ranges from 20 students (lowest) to 2,241 students (highest), a spread of 2,221 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Putnam County student-counselor ratio is 433:1 — high (typically associated with staffing constraints that limit per-student counselor time; CRDC data shows higher ratios cluster in larger urban systems)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Putnam County chronic absenteeism rate is 16.7% — near the typical range (US average ~28) — aligned with the national post-pandemic baseline of roughly 28% chronic absenteeism
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Variation between sub-units within Putnam County is typically wider than the Putnam County-aggregate figure suggests.
Putnam County has 22 schools, including 3 high, 5 elementary, 14 combined. Total enrollment is 12,032 students.
How much does Putnam County spend per student?
Putnam County spends $10,052 per student. The district has an equity score of 23/100, ranking #122 in Tennessee.
What is the demographic composition of Putnam County?
Putnam County students are 73.3% White, 20.8% Hispanic or Latino, 2.8% African American, 1.3% Asian, averaged across 22 schools. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Putnam County?
Putnam County has an equity score of 23/100, ranking #122 out of 140 districts in Tennessee.