Enrollment
931
Tennessee · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Knoxville, TN
Karns Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Karns Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 36/100.
2024-25 NCES dataOther / mixed grade configurationNCES 470222000747
👥 S:T ratio 54
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 7
📋 Attendance 14
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Karns Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Tennessee schools.
- #32 of 41
- schools in Knoxville · Resource Index
- 36
- Resource Index · Typical
- 11.5:1
- small classes for Tennessee
- 931
- students enrolled
Karns Elementary has class sizes smaller than 87% of Tennessee schools. Computed live against every Tennessee school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Karns Elementary ranks #32 of 41 schools in Knoxville, TN.
School address
District: Knox County · Tennessee
NCES ID 470222000747 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
81.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
11.5:1
vs 15.3:1 Tennessee avg
-25% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Karns Elementary compares with Tennessee and U.S. medians
What stands out at Karns Elementary
Karns Elementary is a large combined-grade school in Knoxville, Tennessee, enrolling 931 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 11.5:1, Karns Elementary is leaner than roughly 87% of Tennessee schools and 25% under the state's 15.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Enrollment of 931 puts it in the larger third of Tennessee schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,838 scored Tennessee schools.
Its student body is led by White (71%) and Hispanic or Latino (15%) (diversity index 47/100).
Counselor access is stretched at roughly 466 students per counselor, well above the ASCA-recommended 250:1 ceiling.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 34.5% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Among Knoxville's public schools, it stands alongside Northshore Elementary School (1,051 students): Karns Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (11.5:1 vs 15.2:1).
Knox County also operates Farragut High School (2,073 students) and Bearden High School (1,963 students) alongside Karns Elementary.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Karns Elementary compares
Karns Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Tennessee and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Tennessee | Tennessee avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 11.5:1 | ▼ 25% | 15.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 931 | top 11% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
11.5:1
Leaner classes than 79% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
931
Bigger than 90% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
11.5:1
students per teacher
- 25% below state mean
Top 13% in Tennessee - lower ratio than 87% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Engagement
34.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$10,538
per pupil, district-wide
- below Tennessee avg of $10,822
Well below the U.S. average per-pupil spend, a notably leaner funding position that may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 466 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 17 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.8 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 70.8%
Hispanic or Latino 14.6%
Two or More 6.7%
African American 6.4%
Asian 1.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 70.8% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 46.9/100
Simpson diversity index - at 46.9, Karns Elementary is more mixed than the Tennessee school average of 38.3.
Programs
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Knox County, which includes Karns Elementary.
$10,538
Per student
-3%
vs Tennessee
Avg $10,822
-36%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 49.9%
State 35.6%
Federal 14.6%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Karns Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Farragut High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Bearden High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Hardin Valley Academy | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| West High School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Farragut Middle School | Larger | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Karns Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 2,073
- Students per teacher
- 18.3:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 1,963
- Students per teacher
- 16:1
- Resource Index
- 31/100
- Enrollment
- 1,916
- Students per teacher
- 15.3:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
- Enrollment
- 1,474
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 32/100
- Enrollment
- 1,463
- Students per teacher
- 18.1:1
- Resource Index
- 30/100
Similar other schools in Knoxville
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Northshore Elementary School
Standard public school
1,051 students 15.2:1 students per teacher
Cedar Bluff Elementary
Standard public school
1,047 students 12.8:1 students per teacher
Farragut Primary
Standard public school
923 students 14.7:1 students per teacher
Hardin Valley Elementary
Standard public school
907 students 10.7:1 students per teacher
Tennessee Virtual Junior High School
Standard public school
856 students 24.5:1 students per teacher
Brickey Mccloud Elementary
Standard public school
851 students 13.5:1 students per teacher
Similar other schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Tennessee, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~931 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Karns Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Karns Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Knox County's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Karns Elementary
How many students attend Karns Elementary?
Karns Elementary has 931 students enrolled. It is a public school in Knoxville, TN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Karns Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Karns Elementary is 11.5:1, which is 25% lower than the Tennessee average of 15.3:1 and 27% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Karns Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Karns Elementary is White at 70.8% of enrollment, in Knoxville, TN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Karns Elementary?
Karns Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 36/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Karns Elementary rank among schools in Knoxville?
By Resource Investment Index, Karns Elementary ranks #32 of 41 schools in Knoxville, TN. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Knoxville on the city page.
Is Karns Elementary a good school?
Karns Elementary earns 36/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 87% of Tennessee schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Knox County?
Besides Karns Elementary, Knox County also operates Farragut High School (2,073 students), Bearden High School (1,963 students), and Hardin Valley Academy (1,916 students). See the Knox County district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.