Best School Districts in Tennessee

Top 50 districts ranked by average school quality score. Based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. NCES CCD 2022-23.

50
Districts Ranked
345,342
Students
48/100
Avg Quality Score
TN
State
# District Avg Quality Grade
1. Franklin SSD Franklin 65.3 B-
2. Bradford Bradford 59 C
3. Hollow Rock - Bruceton Bruceton 57 C
4. Collierville Collierville 55.7 C
5. McKenzie McKenzie 53.3 C-
6. West Carroll Sp Dist Atwood 53.3 C-
7. Williamson County Franklin 51.3 C-
8. Henry County Paris 51.3 C-
9. Gibson Co Sp Dist Dyer 51 C-
10. Coffee County Manchester 50.9 C-
11. Obion County Union City 50.6 C-
12. Clay County Celina 50.3 C-
13. Milan Milan 50.3 C-
14. Blount County Maryville 49.9 D
15. Grundy County Altamont 49.3 D
16. Dyersburg Dyersburg 49.3 D
17. Lauderdale County Ripley 48.6 D
18. Henderson County Lexington 48.4 D
19. Greeneville Greeneville 48.4 D
20. Lakeland Lakeland 48 D
21. Rutherford County Murfreesboro 47.9 D
22. White County Sparta 47.5 D
23. Overton County Livingston 47.5 D
24. Germantown Germantown 47.4 D
25. Lexington Lexington 47 D
26. Warren County McMinnville 46.9 D
27. Athens Athens 46.8 D
28. Hickman County Centerville 46.6 D
29. Weakley County Dresden 46.5 D
30. Hamilton County Chattanooga 46.4 D
31. Benton County Camden 46.3 D
32. Rhea County Dayton 46.1 D
33. Bartlett Bartlett 46.1 D
34. Van Buren County Spencer 46 D
35. Johnson City Johnson City 45.8 D
36. Crockett County Alamo 45.8 D
37. Greene County Greeneville 45.6 D
38. Cocke County Newport 45.4 D
39. Johnson County Mountain City 45.4 D
40. Roane County Kingston 45.2 D
41. Hardeman County Schools Bolivar 45 D
42. Giles County Pulaski 44.9 D
43. Lake County Tiptonville 44.7 D
44. Franklin County Winchester 44.5 D
45. Sumner County Gallatin 44.5 D
46. Murfreesboro Murfreesboro 44.5 D
47. Oneida Oneida 44.3 D
48. Maryville Maryville 44.1 D
49. McNairy County Selmer 44.1 D
50. Arlington Arlington 44 D

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Tennessee?

The top-ranked district in Tennessee is Franklin SSD in Franklin with 3,190 students across 8 schools. Average quality score: 65.3/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.

How are district rankings calculated?

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.

How many school districts are in Tennessee?

Tennessee has 50+ school districts serving 994,264 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 15.6:1.

Methodology

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2022-23 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.