Best Public Schools in Mount Vernon, KY

Mount Vernon, Kentucky, has five schools: two elementary schools, one middle school and two high schools, serving students from elementary through high school. Across 36 reported test results, schools averaged 42% proficiency in 2025–2026, compared with 43% statewide, an average gap of 1 percentage point below the state. Results vary substantially by subject: reading was the clearest shared strength, averaging 5 points above the state, while writing was the weakest, averaging 7 points below. The most important takeaway is that strong reading results do not mean students are performing equally well across subjects.

Roundstone Elementary School stands out among the elementary schools in reading, leading Mt. Vernon Elementary in grades 3, 4 and 5; its average result was 2 points above the state, compared with Mt. Vernon’s 3 points below. But Mt. Vernon led by 21 points in grade 4 math and 6 points in grade 5 writing. Rockcastle County High School had strong results in reading, 13 points above the state, and writing, 5 points above. By contrast, Rockcastle County Middle School averaged 4 points below the state; its grade 8 writing and math results were 12 and 11 points below. Rockcastle Academy for Academic Achievement has suppressed test results, so its scores cannot be compared.

Overall results stayed essentially level relative to the state between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, but school trends differed: Roundstone’s average gap improved from 1 point below to 2 points above the state, while the middle school moved from 1 point above to 4 points below. SchoolDigger’s reported percentile for Roundstone rose from 34 to 56 over those years; the middle school went from 39 to 38, after reaching 52 in between. Income measures provide context, not an explanation: all five schools reported free/reduced lunch eligible figures for school year 2024–2025, ranging from 60% at the middle school to 74% at the Academy; Mt. Vernon was at 67% and Roundstone at 69%. The high school also paired a 99% graduation rate with 32% chronic absenteeism in 2025–2026, showing that strong graduation outcomes coexist with an attendance concern.