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Schools in Memphis · Shelby County School District

Memphis’s public schools score below 94% of Tennessee districts on tests and graduation

14% of students in Memphis’s public schools are proficient in math, below the Tennessee average (31%). The grade covers the public school district serving Memphis, from kindergarten through graduation, on state tests and graduation. Each state writes its own tests, so this is the one TownRatings grade compared within Tennessee, not nationally.

#174of 176 Tennessee townsK–12Where will my kid go?

From Tennessee state tests taken in spring 2022, when 95% of students in the tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s four-year graduation rate, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education.

Reading proficiency

23%

▼ 14 pts vs TN 37%

2021–22

Math proficiency

14%

▼ 17 pts vs TN 31%

2021–22

Graduate on time

81%

▼ 6 pts vs TN 87%

class of 2023

Spent per student

$14.6K

▲ 12% vs TN $13.1K

FY2024

Schools in town

235

77,354 students on the public path

In brief

Memphis’s schools, in brief

Against towns with similar incomes

Among the 241 Tennessee towns with household incomes within a quarter of Memphis’s, its schools beat 1%, lower than their 6% against all the state’s districts. The grade ↓

Results trail the state

In spring 2022, 23% of tested students were proficient in reading and 14% in math, against 37% and 31% statewide; 95% of students in the tested grades sat the tests. The grade ↓

Graduation

81% of the class of 2023 graduated in four years, against 87% across Tennessee. Districts ↓

Spending and class size

The district spends $14,576 per student, against $13,059 across Tennessee (FY2024). Spending doesn’t count toward the grade. Districts ↓

82 elementary schools, then 33 middle and 30 high schools

Which school depends on the address at every step. See the path ↓

Choice beyond the district

Wooddale Middle School, Kirby Middle School, Hillcrest High School, KIPP Memphis Collegiate Middle, Circles Of Success Learning Academy, Memphis Academy Of Science Engineering Middle/High, City University School Of Liberal Arts, Memphis Business Academy Middle, Promise Academy, Southern Avenue Charter School Of Academic Excellence Creati, Star Academy, Soulsville Charter School, Power Center Academy Middle, Memphis Business Academy High School, Freedom Preparatory Academy Flagship, Memphis School of Excellence, Veritas College Preparatory, Memphis College Preparatory, Power Center Academy High School, KIPP Memphis Collegiate High School, Memphis Business Academy Elementary School, KIPP Memphis Collegiate Elementary, Memphis Grizzlies Preparatory Charter School, Arrow Academy of Excellence, City University School Girls Preparatory, Vision Preparatory Charter School, Memphis Rise Academy, Power Center Academy Elementary School, Granville T. Woods Academy of Innovation Charter School, Memphis STEM Academy, Journey East Academy, Memphis Delta Preparatory, Freedom Prep Elementary - Millbranch, Memphis School of Excellence Elementary, Believe Memphis Academy Charter School, Perea Elementary School, Crosstown High School, Freedom Prep Middle - Brownlee, Compass Community School Orange Mound Campus, Compass Community School Berclair Campus, Memphis Merit Academy, Compass Community School Binghampton Campus, Compass Community School Hickory Hill Campus, Compass Community School Frayser Campus, Compass Community School Midtown Campus, Aurora Collegiate Academy, Leadership Preparatory Charter School, Memphis School of Excellence Elementary Cordova, Beacon College Preparatory, Freedom Prep Elementary - Parkrose, Memphis School of Excellence Cordova, Westside Middle, Journey Coleman K-8, Cornerstone Prep Denver Campus, Cornerstone Prep - Lester, Lester Prep, Promise Academy Spring Hill, Libertas, Bluff City High School, Cornerstone Prep School, Evangelical Christain School (private), Lausanne Collegiate School (private), St. Mary's Episcopal School (private), Hutchison School (private), St. Agnes Academy-ST. Dominic School, Inc. (private), Christian Brothers High School (private), Memphis University School (private), Harding Academy of Memphis (private), Christ Methodist Day School (private), First Assembly Christian School (private), Pleasant View School (private), Grace-ST. Luke's Episcopal School (private), Westminister Academy (private), New Hope Christian Academy (private), St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School (private), The Collegiate School of Memphis (private), Woodland Presbyterian School (private), Margolin Hebrew Academy (private), Christ the King Lutheran School (private), Immanuel Lutheran School (private), Central Baptist School (private), Cadance Academy Preschool (private), Brinkley Heights Urban Academy (private), Emmanuel United Methodist Kindergarten (private), Bornblum Jewish Community School (private), Cornerstone Learning Center (private), Sensational Enlightment (private), Bowie Reading and Learning Center (private), Memphis Junior Academy (private), Maria Montessori School (private), Concord Academy (private), Midtown Montessori School LLC (private), Breath of Life Academy (private), Creative Life Preparatory School (private), Word of Faith Christian Academy (private), Tennessee Preparatory Academy (private), Memphis Recovery Center (private) and Christ Trinity Christian Academy-Site 2 (private) are in town. Memphis Virtual School and Memphis Virtual Adult High School, online schools, are based here too; they aren’t counted as local schools. Every school ↓

Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.

The School Grade

What’s behind Memphis’s grade

D Test scoresD Graduation

D: better than 6% of Tennessee school districts, #174 of 176 Tennessee towns. Both inputs trail the Tennessee average; graduation is the closer of the two to typical.

Tennessee school districts we grade (147)Better than 6%

Lower resultsHigher results

Tennessee towns with similar household incomes (241)Better than 1%

A firm grade. Ordinary sampling error in 59,414 test results and a graduating class of 7,461 wouldn’t change the letter. The tests are from spring 2022, when 95% of Memphis’s students in the tested grades sat them (62,234 in math, 56,593 in reading).

How TownRatings grades schools →

Where will my kid go?

Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Memphis, with each school’s own grade.

82 schools teach K in Memphis’s district. Which one depends on your address. Their grades range from D− to A, so check the specific school.

Town	Schools	Main districts
Memphis	D	Shelby County
Germantown	A⁺	Germantown Municipal
Bartlett	A	Bartlett City
Lakeland	A⁺	Lakeland School System District PK–11 · Arlington Community Schools in Lakeland

Memphis’s public schools score below 94% of Tennessee districts on tests and graduation

Memphis’s schools, in brief

Against towns with similar incomes

Results trail the state

Graduation

Spending and class size

82 elementary schools, then 33 middle and 30 high schools

Choice beyond the district

What’s behind Memphis’s grade

Where will my kid go?

The district

Well below the state in reading

Memphis vs. its neighbors

Every school in Memphis

Questions about Memphis’s schools

Parents talk