Breathitt County

The Breathitt County school list includes six schools: three elementary schools and three high schools, spanning prekindergarten through grade 12, with no middle schools. Reported achievement results show a sharply uneven picture, especially between the two elementary schools with the clearest comparable results. The most important difference is that Highland-Turner Elementary School scored 8 to 46 percentage points higher than Sebastian Elementary School in all nine same-grade, same-subject comparisons where both had scores.

Highland-Turner is the standout: it exceeded the state in seven of nine numeric score entries, including 86% in fifth-grade editing and mechanics, 38 points above the state. SchoolDigger ranks it 51st of 684 schools, in the 93rd percentile, and gives it five stars. Sebastian is the weakest reported elementary profile, below the state in all 13 of its score entries; its largest gaps with Highland-Turner include 46 points in fifth-grade editing and mechanics and 44 in third-grade math. Breathitt County High School is mixed: 11th-grade writing reached 56%, 9 points above the state and 16 points above its prior-year result, while math was below the state in all three reported grades. Its graduation rate was 97%, 3 points above the state. Breathitt Elementary has no scores listed, and scores for Breathitt Regional School and Breathitt Learning Academy are state-suppressed.

Across matched results, the average school score rose from 37% in 2024–25 to 38% in 2025–26, while the state average edged down from 42% to 41%; the average gap narrowed by 1 point. Highland-Turner’s SchoolDigger percentile ranking rose from 85th to 93rd after reaching 98th in 2023–24, though its comparable score average was nearly level between the latest two years. In 2024–25, Highland-Turner had 184 students, a 14.4 student-teacher ratio, and 85% free/reduced lunch eligible, compared with Sebastian’s 393 students, 17.9 ratio, and 79% free/reduced lunch eligible; these are context, not explanations for the score difference. Attendance is another concern: chronic absenteeism at Breathitt County High School was 33%, 9 points above the state rate.