Tennessee · NCES CCD 2024-25
Best Public Schools in Tennessee
Top 50 schools ranked by resource quality score, based on student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.
- 75/100
- Top score
- B+
- Top grade
- 63/100
- Avg score (top 50)
- 50
- Schools ranked
The ranking in one line
Chattanooga Preparatory School in Chattanooga is Tennessee's top-resourced public school, scoring 75/100 on the NCES resource index.
- 75/100
- top score (grade B+)
- 1
- schools at the top grade (B+)
- 63/100
- average across the top 50
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best public schools in Tennessee? ▼
The top-rated school in Tennessee is Chattanooga Preparatory School in Chattanooga with a quality score of 75/100 (grade B+). Rankings are based on student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted programs, and attendance rates from NCES data.
How are school quality scores calculated? ▼
Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data across 4 metrics: student-teacher ratio (lower is better, national avg ~16:1), counselor availability (ASCA recommends 250:1), gifted program availability, and chronic absenteeism rate (lower is better). This measures school resources, not test scores.
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Methodology
Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Schools must have at least 50 students and data for one or more metrics. This measures resource quality, not test scores. Higher scores indicate smaller class sizes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.
Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.