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.
| # | 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.
Explore More for Tennessee
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.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.