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Big Sandy School

Public, Alternative Grades K-12

811^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,009 Tennessee Alternative Schools

Better than 20% of Tennessee alternative schools

Summary

Big Sandy School is an alternative public school serving grades K-12 in Big Sandy, Tennessee, with 266 students and part of the Benton County School District, which is ranked 112 out of 139 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite the school's relatively low test scores, with proficiency rates in Math (24.2%) and English Language Arts (34.2%) well below the state averages, Big Sandy School maintains high 4-year graduation rates, ranging from 86.1% to 97.6% over the past few years, which is higher than the state average. However, the school also has relatively high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 13.7% to 20.2%, which may be contributing to the lower test scores. Interestingly, the school spends between $10,843 and $11,891 per student, which is higher than the state average, but this does not seem to be translating into significantly better academic outcomes compared to the state and county averages.

When compared to nearby schools, Henry County Virtual Academy also has high graduation rates but lower test scores, while E.W. Grove School has higher test scores in certain subjects like Algebra I and English I. This suggests that Big Sandy School may be able to learn from the experiences of these nearby schools to address its own challenges and improve its overall performance.

243

Students ?

7.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,281

Per pupil spending ?

68.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

13305 Highway 69 A
Big Sandy, TN 38221

(731) 593-3221

District: Benton County

Racial breakdown:

White:

95.9%

Two or more races:

2.5%

Hispanic:

1.2%

See top rated Tennessee elementary schools

Compare Big Sandy School to nearby alternative schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 81st percentile in 2022 → 28th in 2025

Strengths

✓95% graduate in 4 years — above the Tennessee average (89%)

✓Small classes — about 7 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Tennessee average (30% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (20th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 53 percentile points since 2022

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg37%

Tennessee avg42%

Elementary school

811^th of 1,009

Tennessee public elementary schools ?

Bottom 20%▼ down 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Tennessee Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

318^th of 583

Tennessee public middle schools ?

Bottom 45%▼ down 7 pts since 2015

From top 47% (2015) to bottom 45% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Tennessee Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

281^st of 389

Tennessee public high schools ?

Bottom 28%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 34% (2015) to bottom 28% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Tennessee High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Alternative Schools in the Benton County

112^th of 139Benton 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	23.3	811 of 1009	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	36.4	658 of 1018	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	44.9	549 of 1020	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	49.8	464 of 1000	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	44.0	512 of 983	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.5	615 of 985	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	43.3	548 of 997	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2015	32.9	673 of 855	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	23.9	721 of 853	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	51.6	521 of 846	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2012	66.0	293 of 820	64.3%	★★★☆☆
2011	11.6	777 of 818	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	16.7	725 of 809	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	26.0	765 of 986	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.3	798 of 990	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	37.6	612 of 989	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.0	503 of 975	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.4	729 of 945	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.5	518 of 926	44.1%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2024	27.2	681 of 853	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	71.0	153 of 865	82.3%	★★★★☆
2022	84.1	57 of 858	93.4%	★★★★★
2021	30.3	596 of 823	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.4	678 of 821	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	51.6	377 of 877	57.0%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	23.8	787 of 984	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.6	655 of 991	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	55.5	386 of 987	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	53.6	385 of 980	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	19.0	781 of 941	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	44.9	273 of 618	55.8%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	12.3	805 of 840	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	25.6	678 of 847	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.7	603 of 852	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	36.2	548 of 844	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.6	550 of 844	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.5	631 of 812	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.3	584 of 841	30.6%	★★☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	44.6	318 of 583	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	53.9	243 of 587	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	48.2	284 of 594	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	58.9	195 of 569	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	63.7	147 of 576	74.5%	★★★★☆
2019	27.4	438 of 574	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	58.7	191 of 563	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2017	67.9	87 of 362	76.0%	★★★★☆
2015	57.5	232 of 492	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2014	39.3	340 of 485	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2013	45.9	332 of 475	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	28.0	375 of 466	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	4.7	458 of 462	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	40.9	275 of 435	36.8%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	48.6	279 of 546	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	43.7	304 of 554	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.7	361 of 560	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	54.4	212 of 552	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	64.9	140 of 538	74.0%	★★★★☆
2019	32.1	386 of 529	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2024	68.3	97 of 510	81.0%	★★★★☆
2023	46.7	242 of 514	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	44.8	244 of 495	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	31.1	366 of 490	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	72.9	54 of 481	88.8%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	36.0	364 of 550	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	56.6	211 of 560	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	62.7	170 of 557	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	71.6	102 of 540	81.1%	★★★★☆
2019	33.2	361 of 523	31.0%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	32.4	355 of 492	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	41.4	277 of 504	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.1	307 of 503	39.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	48.7	231 of 500	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	57.0	172 of 496	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	19.9	437 of 484	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	51.5	205 of 481	57.4%	★★★☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	28.2	281 of 389	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	52.2	154 of 392	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	59.3	119 of 384	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	67.2	67 of 358	81.3%	★★★★☆
2021	61.4	79 of 347	77.2%	★★★★☆
2019	70.5	53 of 342	84.5%	★★★★☆
2018	65.9	70 of 341	79.5%	★★★★☆
2017	42.9	151 of 273	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2016	43.6	202 of 351	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2015	47.6	198 of 300	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2014	40.7	205 of 296	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	36.3	239 of 285	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	82.9	27 of 269	90.0%	★★★★★
2011	28.9	230 of 273	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	56.8	133 of 267	50.2%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2024	46.9	182 of 365	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.2	138 of 366	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	53.4	130 of 350	62.9%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2024	87.6	16 of 337	95.3%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2024	22.9	292 of 366	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	75.5	40 of 359	88.9%	★★★★☆
2022	59.4	100 of 349	71.3%	★★★★☆
2021	72.2	36 of 332	89.2%	★★★★☆
2019	90.6	17 of 329	94.8%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Tennessee percentile	Rating
2025	22.7	269 of 323	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	43.9	169 of 326	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	52.9	126 of 325	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	58.2	91 of 312	70.8%	★★★★☆
2021	61.8	64 of 306	79.1%	★★★★☆
2019	65.9	62 of 301	79.4%	★★★★☆
2018	58.1	93 of 307	69.7%	★★★★☆

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)

Elementary school

Special Education (2025)56th percentile+36 vs school

Female (2025)22nd percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)20th percentile-15 vs school

Male (2025)20th percentile~ school

White (2025)4th percentile-15 vs school

Middle school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)81st percentile+22 vs school

Female (2025)49th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)34th percentile-12 vs school

White (2025)28th percentile-18 vs school

High school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)95th percentile+35 vs school

Female (2024)50th percentile-11 vs school

Male (2024)20th percentile-40 vs school

White (2025)17th percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs Tennessee (2024-2025) ?

Science37%-9 vs state

English Language Arts34%-5 vs state

Social Studies28%-21 vs state

English I27%-12 vs state

Mathematics24%-18 vs state

Algebra II17%-18 vs state

Algebra I12%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near Big Sandy School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()				TNReady Mathematics (2025)							TNReady English Language Arts (2025)							TNReady Algebra I (2025)		TNReady Algebra II (2025)		TNReady Biology I (2025)		TNReady US History (2025)		TNReady English I (2025)		TNReady English II (2025)		TNReady Geometry (2025)			TNReady Science (2025)							TNReady Social Studies (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year	TNReady Mathematics 3rd Grade	TNReady Mathematics 4th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 5th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 6th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 7th Grade	TNReady Mathematics 8th Grade	TNReady Mathematics All Grades	TNReady English Language Arts 3rd Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 4th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 5th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 6th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 7th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts 8th Grade	TNReady English Language Arts All Grades	TNReady Algebra I 9th Grade	TNReady Algebra I All Grades	TNReady Algebra II 11th Grade	TNReady Algebra II All Grades	TNReady Biology I 9th Grade	TNReady Biology I All Grades	TNReady US History 11th Grade	TNReady US History All Grades	TNReady English I 9th Grade	TNReady English I All Grades	TNReady English II 10th Grade	TNReady English II All Grades	TNReady Geometry 9th Grade	TNReady Geometry 10th Grade	TNReady Geometry All Grades	TNReady Science 3rd Grade	TNReady Science 4th Grade	TNReady Science 5th Grade	TNReady Science 6th Grade	TNReady Science 7th Grade	TNReady Science 8th Grade	TNReady Science All Grades	TNReady Social Studies 6th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 7th Grade	TNReady Social Studies 8th Grade	TNReady Social Studies All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Big Sandy School	Public, Alternative	K-12	13305 Highway 69 A	Big Sandy	38221	Benton County	Benton County	No	No	No	Yes	(731) 593-3221	266	36	7.4		257 (96.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.9%)								(n/a)	26.9	5.3	45.5	29.2	23.1	22.2	24.2	34.6	21.1	36.4	33.3	30.8	44.4	34.2	14.3	12.5	18.2	16.7					26.7	26.7						19.2	21.1	27.3	33.3	61.5	59.3	36.7	12.5	46.2	33.3	28.1	$13,281	$1,068	$11,226
E. W. Grove School	Public, Alternative	9	215 Grove BLVD	Paris	38242	Henry County	Henry County	No	No	No	Yes	(731) 642-4586	387	25	15.6		302 (78.0%)	40 (10.3%)	21 (5.4%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	20 (5.2%)								(n/a)															28.0	28.0			48.2	48.2			47.6	47.6			94.4		94.4												$12,315	$555	$10,637
Decatur County Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	2740 Highway 641 S	Parsons	38363	Decatur County	Decatur County	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(731) 847-1750	0																		(n/a)																																									$5,967	$293	$5,635
Henry County Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	937 Pioneer RD	Henry	38231	Henry County	Henry County	No	No	Yes	Yes	(731) 644-3898	51	16	3.1		43 (84.3%)	6 (11.8%)	2 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																					33.3	33.3			30.0	30.0		5.9	5.9												$8,502	$542	$7,864

Frequently Asked Questions about Big Sandy School

Is Big Sandy School a good school?

Big Sandy School ranks in the bottom 19.6% of Tennessee alternative schools.

What district is Big Sandy School in?

Benton County

How many students attend Big Sandy School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 243 students attended Big Sandy School.

What is the racial makeup of Big Sandy School?

Students at Big Sandy School are 96% White, 2% Two or more races, 1% Hispanic.

Rate Big Sandy School!

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TNTennessee Alternative School Rankings

TNTennessee District Rankings

Schools in Big Sandy, TN

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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.