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Carter County

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At a glance

75^thof 158 Kentucky districts▲ 8

Better than 52% of Kentucky districts

Elementary 6 Middle 2 High 3 Alternative 1Grades PK, KG-12

228 S Carol Malone Blvd
Grayson, KY 41143·(606) 474-6696·All Kentucky district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 52.5% of districts

Schools

3,980

Students

5-star school

Top rankedCarter City Elementary School50^th of 684 Kentucky elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Carter City Elementary School up 95 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Carter City Elementary School 12.2 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

2★

1★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

The 11 schools in Carter County include six elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools and an alternative school, with 3,980 students enrolled. Results vary widely even among schools serving the same grade: fifth-grade math ranges from 81% at Carter City Elementary to 21% at Tygart Creek Elementary. Across reported school-grade results, writing averages about 8 points above the state, while reading averages 3 points below. The most important takeaway is that a school’s results can look very different depending on the grade and subject.

Carter City stands out among elementary schools, leading in fourth-grade math at 64% and fifth-grade math and reading at 81% and 75%. Star Elementary leads in third-grade reading at 65% and fifth-grade editing and mechanics at 75%. At the other end, Olive Hill Elementary has 34% in fourth-grade math and 39% in fifth-grade reading, while Heritage Elementary has 28% in fourth-grade reading and science. At middle school, West Carter Middle leads most reported comparisons, though East Carter Middle leads in seventh-grade math and eighth-grade writing. At high school, East Carter leads in math, science, writing and editing and mechanics; West Carter leads in reading and social studies.

Recent changes are mixed: tenth-grade math rose 9 points at East Carter High and 14 points at West Carter High, while eighth-grade math at East Carter Middle fell 16 points. SchoolDigger’s 2025–26 rankings range from the 22nd percentile at East Carter Middle to the 93rd at Carter City; Carter City rose 11 percentile points over three years, while East Carter Middle fell 32. For context, 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible shares ranged from 51% at Star to 77% at Heritage; these figures alone do not explain school results. Both high schools’ graduation rates exceeded the state’s, but chronic absenteeism was also higher: 35% at West Carter and 38% at East Carter, versus 24% statewide. Some small-school test results are state-suppressed, so not every comparison is available.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				KSA Mathematics (2026)							KSA Reading (2026)							KSA Science (2026)			KSA Writing (2026)			KSA Social Studies (2026)			KSA Editing and Mechanics (2026)			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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/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%)	56.5	98^th of 262 public high schools	62.6%		48.8	132^nd of 254 public high schools	48.0%	34							44.0							49.0			24.0			57.0			35.0			41.0	$20,137	$889	$11,732
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%)	35.9	455^th of 684 public elementary schools	33.5%		45.5	376^th of 685 public elementary schools	45.1%	79	37.0	34.0	27.0					39.0	41.0	39.0					34.0			68.0			32.0			44.0			$22,925	$1,514	$11,037
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%)	51.6	326^th of 684 public elementary schools	52.3%		58	275^th of 685 public elementary schools	59.9%	51	43.0	41.0	46.0					50.0	46.0	49.0					42.0			47.0			41.0			48.0			$20,111	$1,340	$11,214
Star Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	8249 E US Hwy 60	Rush	41168	Boyd 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%)	70.2	173^rd of 684 public elementary schools	74.7%		69.7	176^th of 685 public elementary schools	74.3%	3		42.0	56.0					65.0													38.0			75.0			$21,820	$1,076	$12,879
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%)	56.8	97^th of 262 public high schools	63.0%		48.9	131^st of 254 public high schools	48.4%	34							42.0							54.0			22.0			54.0			38.0			41.0	$21,323	$761	$12,996
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%)	33.3	225^th of 326 public middle schools	31.0%		33.9	218^th of 320 public middle schools	31.9%	7				36.0	20.0	38.0					48.0	47.0	33.0			16.0			48.0			34.0			44.0		$1,891	$1,504	$11,336
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%)	25.8	254^th of 326 public middle schools	22.1%		37.3	205^th of 320 public middle schools	35.9%	49				24.0	30.0	34.0					40.0	35.0	31.0						49.0			26.0			39.0		$19,210	$1,307	$10,439
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%)	44.2	389^th of 684 public elementary schools	43.1%		49.9	337^th of 685 public elementary schools	50.8%	52	44.0		44.0					56.0	28.0	51.0					28.0			29.0			36.0			59.0			$20,841	$1,253	$12,007
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)														25.0													$11,278	$591	$3,306
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%)	42.1	404^th of 684 public elementary schools	40.9%		37.1	451^st of 685 public elementary schools	34.2%	47	62.0	33.0	21.0						43.0	48.0					33.0			39.0			36.0			50.0			$21,397	$1,141	$12,565
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%)	88.5	50^th of 684 public elementary schools	92.7%		74	145^th of 685 public elementary schools	78.8%	95	57.0	64.0	81.0					64.0		75.0																	$24,314	$1,205	$15,339

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Lewis County	8.08 mi	7	94^th
Greenup County	17.19 mi	6	136^th
Kentucky Technical System	19.33 mi	50
Rowan County	19.89 mi	10	132^nd
Elliott County	20.57 mi	4	154^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.