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South Side Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
883rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,009 Tennessee Elementary Schools
Better than 12% of Tennessee elementary schools
Summary

South Side Elementary is a public elementary school in Shelbyville, Tennessee, serving 383 students in grades PK-5 as part of the Bedford County School District. While the district is ranked 89 out of 139 in the state, South Side Elementary consistently performs in the bottom half of Tennessee elementary schools, with low proficiency rates on state assessments that lag behind both state and county averages.

The school's academic challenges are evident across all subjects and grade levels, with particularly concerning performance in 5th grade, where proficiency rates in Mathematics and English Language Arts are only 10.5%, compared to state averages of 47.1% and 40.7%, respectively. South Side Elementary also struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 14.4% to 20.2%, which are significantly higher than the state average. While the school's per-student spending has increased over the years, this has not translated into improved academic outcomes.

In contrast, nearby schools such as Community Elementary, Cascade Elementary, and Liberty Elementary generally outperform South Side Elementary, with higher proficiency rates and better rankings among Tennessee elementary schools. Addressing the root causes of South Side Elementary's academic challenges, such as instructional practices, school climate, and resource allocation, will be crucial for improving student outcomes.

352
Students ?
13.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$13,076
Per pupil spending ?
81.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 903 Cannon BLVD
       Shelbyville, TN  37160

(931) 684-7545

District: Bedford County


Students who attend South Side Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Harris Middle School
High:    Shelbyville Central High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
49.4%
White:
33.5%
African American:
8.2%
more
 See top rated Tennessee elementary schools

 Compare South Side Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 32nd percentile in 2014 → 12th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Tennessee average (22% vs 42% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 20 percentile points since 2014
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school22%
District avg35%
Tennessee avg42%
883rd of 1,009
Tennessee public elementary schools ?
Bottom 12%▼ down 20 pts since 2015
From bottom 32% (2015) to bottom 12% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Tennessee Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
7th of 8Elementary Schools in the Bedford County
89th of 139Bedford County among Tennessee districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202515.2883 of 100912.5%★☆☆☆☆
202418.3860 of 101815.5%★☆☆☆☆
20239.6959 of 10206.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202218.2844 of 100015.6%★☆☆☆☆
202125.1736 of 98325.1%★☆☆☆☆
201918.0856 of 98513.1%★☆☆☆☆
201818.7856 of 99714.1%★☆☆☆☆
201728.6530 of 64618.0%★☆☆☆☆
201542.0579 of 85532.3%★★☆☆☆
201439.6578 of 85332.2%★★☆☆☆
201347.8568 of 84632.9%★★☆☆☆
201228.0665 of 82018.9%★☆☆☆☆
201175.5180 of 81878.0%★★★★☆
201040.4511 of 80936.8%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202536.9308 of 49838.2%★★☆☆☆
202430.5341 of 49831.5%★★☆☆☆
202313.0485 of 5003.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201940.9214 of 40447.0%★★☆☆☆
201854.6159 of 45064.7%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202436.0115 of 17835.4%★★☆☆☆
202227.1145 of 16512.1%★☆☆☆☆
202143.549 of 10151.5%★★★☆☆
201931.749 of 6625.8%★☆☆☆☆
201844.646 of 9551.6%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202515.9863 of 98612.5%★☆☆☆☆
202420.3807 of 99018.5%★☆☆☆☆
202316.3857 of 98913.3%★☆☆☆☆
202222.2767 of 97521.3%★☆☆☆☆
202129.5658 of 94530.4%★★☆☆☆
201917.9807 of 92612.9%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202525.4345 of 42418.6%★☆☆☆☆
202429.1313 of 41524.6%★☆☆☆☆
202317.6366 of 3875.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202230.4272 of 36325.1%★☆☆☆☆
202151.8130 of 32459.9%★★★☆☆
201923.7216 of 25013.6%★☆☆☆☆
201823.9282 of 31911.6%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202517.5769 of 8438.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202434.8580 of 85332.0%★★☆☆☆
202317.7783 of 8659.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202219.8771 of 85810.1%★☆☆☆☆
202129.1609 of 82326.0%★☆☆☆☆
201924.2701 of 82114.6%★☆☆☆☆
201829.0691 of 87721.2%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202517.4853 of 98413.3%★☆☆☆☆
202418.5841 of 99115.1%★☆☆☆☆
20236.0970 of 9871.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202216.8851 of 98013.2%★☆☆☆☆
202124.8717 of 94123.8%★☆☆☆☆
201918.8797 of 91613.0%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202524.0526 of 61814.9%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankTennessee percentileRating
202512.0808 of 8403.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202412.8804 of 8475.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.6849 of 8520.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202213.4796 of 8445.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202115.9788 of 8446.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201915.2763 of 8126.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.9800 of 8414.9%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
African American (2025)38th percentile+26 vs school
English Language Learner (2024)35th percentile+20 vs school
Hispanic (2025)19th percentile+6 vs school
Special Education (2025)15th percentile~ school
Male (2025)13th percentile~ school
Female (2025)12th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)9th percentile-4 vs school
White (2025)4th percentile-9 vs school
By subject vs Tennessee (2024-2025) ?
Science24%-22 vs state
Mathematics23%-20 vs state
English Language Arts20%-19 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about South Side Elementary

Students who attend South Side Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Harris Middle School
High : Shelbyville Central High School

South Side Elementary ranks in the bottom 12.5% of Tennessee elementary schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 352 students attended South Side Elementary.

Students at South Side Elementary are 49% Hispanic, 34% White, 8% African American, 8% Two or more races.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Tennessee Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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