Carter County

Summary:

The Carter County school district in Kentucky consists of 11 schools, including 6 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative school. The district serves a diverse student population, with high rates of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch across all schools.

Within the district, a few schools stand out for their exceptional performance. Star Elementary School and Carter City Elementary School are consistently ranked among the top elementary schools in the state, with strong academic achievement, particularly in mathematics and reading. In contrast, several other elementary schools in the district struggle, with test scores well below the state averages, suggesting significant variation in the quality of elementary education within the district.

At the high school level, East Carter High School and West Carter High School have similar performance, with graduation rates around 93.5% and dropout rates around 1.1%. However, the district as a whole is rated 2 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger, indicating room for improvement in the overall quality of education provided. Identifying and replicating the practices of the highest-performing schools could help raise the district's performance and address the challenges posed by high rates of poverty and chronic absenteeism across all schools.

District Detail

228 S Carol Malone Blvd
Grayson, KY 41143

(606) 474-6696

SchoolDigger Rank:
83^rd of 157 Kentucky districts

See the 2025 Kentucky District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 3,980

Primary Schools: 6
Middle Schools: 2
High Schools: 3
Alternative Schools: 1

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				KSA Mathematics (2025)							KSA Reading (2025)							KSA Science (2025)			KSA Writing (2025)			KSA Social Studies (2025)			KSA Editing and Mechanics (2025)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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 (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	KSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	KSA Mathematics 4th Grade	KSA Mathematics 5th Grade	KSA Mathematics 6th Grade	KSA Mathematics 7th Grade	KSA Mathematics 8th Grade	KSA Mathematics 10th Grade	KSA Reading 3rd Grade	KSA Reading 4th Grade	KSA Reading 5th Grade	KSA Reading 6th Grade	KSA Reading 7th Grade	KSA Reading 8th Grade	KSA Reading 10th Grade	KSA Science 4th Grade	KSA Science 7th Grade	KSA Science 11th Grade	KSA Writing 5th Grade	KSA Writing 8th Grade	KSA Writing 11th Grade	KSA Social Studies 5th Grade	KSA Social Studies 8th Grade	KSA Social Studies 11th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 5th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 8th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
East Carter County High School	Public	9-12	405 Hitchins Rd	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-5714	678	36	18.6	55.9%	637 (94.0%)	1 (0.1%)	22 (3.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	16 (2.4%)	48.8	132^nd of 254 public high schools	48.0%		56.5	117^th of 290 public high schools	59.7%	15							35.0							44.0			22.0			59.0			38.0			34.0	$16,737	$752	$2,625	$3,377	$9,064	$2,438	$11,502
Olive Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	825 E Tom T Hall Blvd	Olive Hill	41164	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 286-5385	360	28	12.8	66.7%	343 (95.3%)	3 (0.8%)	9 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.4%)	45.5	376^th of 685 public elementary schools	45.1%		55.5	287^th of 685 public elementary schools	58.1%	89	55.0	41.0	43.0					48.0	33.0	46.0					22.0			54.0			32.0			52.0			$18,100	$1,255	$2,631	$3,886	$10,156	$2,100	$12,256
Prichard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	401 E Main St	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-8815	612	40	15.4	64.2%	574 (93.8%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.1%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (2.3%)	58	275^th of 685 public elementary schools	59.9%		54.4	300^th of 685 public elementary schools	56.2%	25	39.0	48.0	40.0					50.0	57.0	49.0					57.0			46.0			42.0			51.0			$15,997	$910	$2,555	$3,465	$8,887	$1,739	$10,626
Star Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8249 E US Hwy 60	Rush	41168	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-5756	124	8	15.4	50.8%	123 (99.2%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	69.7	176^th of 685 public elementary schools	74.3%		83.1	80^th of 685 public elementary schools	88.3%	96	82.0	67.0	44.0					59.0	44.0	63.0								63.0			44.0			44.0			$17,274	$681	$2,500	$3,181	$10,683	$1,672	$12,355
West Carter County High School	Public	9-12	365 West Carter Dr	Olive Hill	41164	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 286-2481	506	28	17.8	62.1%	491 (97.0%)	4 (0.8%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.2%)	48.9	131^st of 254 public high schools	48.4%		55	123^rd of 290 public high schools	57.6%	8							28.0							52.0			18.0			55.0			40.0			38.0	$18,049	$912	$2,652	$3,564	$9,652	$2,941	$12,593
Carter County Career and Technical Center	Public	9-12	15 Grahn Rd.	Olive Hill	41164	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	No	(606) 286-4022	0	5	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
West Carter Middle School	Public	6-8	150 Warrior Drive	Olive Hill	41164	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 286-5354	392	21	18.9	71.7%	385 (98.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	33.9	218^th of 320 public middle schools	31.9%		46.3	162^nd of 324 public middle schools	50.0%	56				23.0	40.0	47.0					41.0	41.0	32.0						54.0			31.0			45.0		$16,811	$1,038	$2,735	$3,773	$9,254	$1,926	$11,180
East Carter Middle School	Public	6-8	1 Spirit Lane	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-5156	490	24	20.6	62.4%	461 (94.1%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (3.5%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (1.0%)	37.3	205^th of 320 public middle schools	35.9%		50.6	149^th of 324 public middle schools	54.0%	56				30.0	38.0	50.0					39.0	38.0	36.0			22.0			61.0			35.0			49.0		$15,830	$871	$2,615	$3,486	$8,568	$1,945	$10,513
Heritage Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4863 S State Hwy 1	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-5784	336	22	15.0	77.1%	329 (97.9%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	49.9	337^th of 685 public elementary schools	50.8%		38.1	434^th of 685 public elementary schools	36.6%	97	43.0	51.0	26.0					33.0	49.0	52.0					39.0			51.0			33.0			70.0			$16,476	$806	$2,632	$3,438	$9,095	$1,965	$11,060
Carter Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	372 West Carter Dr.	Olive Hill	41164	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	Yes	No	(606) 286-4022	47	1	47.0	76.6%	44 (93.6%)	2 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)														33.0
Tygart Creek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	19743 W US Hwy 60	Olive Hill	41164	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 286-2110	318	23	13.6	72.6%	305 (95.9%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.6%)	37.1	451^st of 685 public elementary schools	34.2%		41.2	405^th of 685 public elementary schools	40.9%	46	45.0	21.0	38.0					59.0	39.0	46.0					23.0			42.0			27.0			42.0			$17,359	$1,003	$2,560	$3,563	$9,796	$1,998	$11,794
Carter City Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	13321 State Hwy 2	Grayson	41143	Carter County	Carter County	No	No	No	Yes	(606) 474-6121	117	10	12.2	62.4%	114 (97.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	74	145^th of 685 public elementary schools	78.8%		74.5	126^th of 685 public elementary schools	81.6%	19			50.0						76.0									50.0			55.0			50.0			$19,093	$1,126	$2,540	$3,666	$10,489	$3,200	$13,689

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Lewis County	8.08 mi	7	81^st
Greenup County	17.19 mi	7	134^th
Kentucky Technical System	19.33 mi	53
Rowan County	19.89 mi	11	105^th
Elliott County	20.57 mi	4	144^th

See the top KY Kentucky districts

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