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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 40004

New rankings! Kentucky test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

Schools

5,226

Students

Districts

Top rankedBardstown Middle School153^rd of 326 Kentucky middle schools

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Biggest riser

Foster Heights Elementary School up 59 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Foster Heights Elementary School 13.6 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

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

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Summary:

Schools in zip code 40004 include 11 schools across elementary, middle, high-school and alternative settings, serving families in the Bardstown and Nelson County area. Seven conventional schools have reported 2025–26 test results; among those results, schools average below matching state results in every subject. The largest average gap is in writing, at 37% for area schools versus 44% statewide, a 7-point difference; math and science each trail by 5 points. The clearest area-wide finding is that results are below state averages across all six tested subjects.

Results vary sharply by school. Bardstown Middle School stands out: it beats the state in six reported results, including grade 6 reading at 64% versus 54%, while Old Kentucky Home Middle School is below the state in all ten results; the gap between the schools reaches 22 points in grade 6 reading and 20 points in grade 8 math. Among high schools, Bardstown High School leads in four of six subjects, while Nelson County High School has the lowest result in all six, including grade 11 writing, where it trails Thomas Nelson High School by 19 points. Elementary results are more mixed: Foster Heights Elementary School leads grade 5 math by 13 points, while Bardstown Elementary School leads grade 4 reading by 18 points.

Recent test-score changes also differ: Foster Heights improved by an average of 6 points across matched results, while Nelson County High fell by 8 points; overall, area results slipped about 1 point per comparison as state results were nearly flat. SchoolDigger’s 2025–26 statewide percentiles range from the 18th at Nelson County High to the 53rd at Bardstown Middle; since 2023–24, Foster Heights rose 14 percentile points, while Bardstown Elementary fell 22. As context, 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible figures range from 44% at Thomas Nelson to 57% at Foster Heights among conventional schools, and high-school enrollment and these figures are fairly close despite different test results. Student-teacher ratios also vary: Foster Heights has 13.6 students per teacher versus 15.5 at Bardstown Elementary, though the schools trade leads by grade and subject. Bardstown Primary School has no listed test scores, and alternative-school KSA results are suppressed.

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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
Bardstown Elementary School	Public	2-5	1345 Templin Ave	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Bardstown Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(502) 331-8801	847	54	15.5	54.9%	561 (66.2%)	92 (10.9%)	64 (7.6%)	11 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	117 (13.8%)	43.8	395^th of 684 public elementary schools	42.3%		56.8	283^rd of 685 public elementary schools	58.7%	112	38.0	45.0	35.0					37.0	54.0	47.0					42.0			39.0			36.0			45.0			$17,897	$956	$12,927
Bardstown High School	Public	9-12	400 N 5th St	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Bardstown Independent	No	No	No	No	(502) 331-8802	703	39	18.1	47.4%	458 (65.1%)	84 (11.9%)	64 (9.1%)	18 (2.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	76 (10.8%)	47.1	135^th of 262 public high schools	48.5%		57.1	92^nd of 254 public high schools	63.8%	43							43.0							54.0			23.0			38.0			35.0			35.0	$18,958	$167	$14,769
Bardstown Middle School	Public	6-8	410 N 5th St	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Bardstown Independent	No	No	No	No	(502) 331-8803	591	35	16.7	52.5%	373 (63.1%)	62 (10.5%)	65 (11.0%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (14.6%)	50.1	153^rd of 326 public middle schools	53.1%		44.5	176^th of 320 public middle schools	45.0%	23				43.0	33.0	33.0					64.0	46.0	43.0			25.0			50.0			43.0			53.0		$17,699	$260	$13,409
Bardstown Primary School	Public	K-1	1000 Templin Ave	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Bardstown Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(502) 331-8810	434	28	15.5	55.5%	281 (64.7%)	47 (10.8%)	35 (8.1%)	4 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	65 (15.0%)								(n/a)																											$20,186	$843	$15,244
Bardstown Alternative School	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	1345 Templin Av	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Bardstown Independent	No	No	Yes	No	(502) 331-8829	31	5	6.8	87.1%	18 (58.1%)	3 (9.7%)	2 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (25.8%)								(n/a)																											$23,300	$81	$19,316
Foster Heights Elementary School	Public	K-5	211 E Muir Ave	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Nelson County	No	No	No	Yes	(502) 349-7030	588	43	13.6	56.5%	496 (84.4%)	16 (2.7%)	38 (6.5%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.1%)	35.3	461^st of 684 public elementary schools	32.6%		27.4	520^th of 685 public elementary schools	24.1%	59	32.0	34.0	48.0					44.0	36.0	51.0					28.0			30.0			38.0			40.0			$20,095	$1,735	$15,293
Old Kentucky Home Middle School	Public	6-8	301 Wildcat Ln	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Nelson County	No	No	No	Yes	(502) 349-7040	594	31	19.1	48.7%	537 (90.4%)	9 (1.5%)	22 (3.7%)	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.0%)	22.9	262^nd of 326 public middle schools	19.6%		19.5	269^th of 320 public middle schools	15.9%	7				35.0	26.0	19.0					42.0	39.0	29.0			22.0			42.0			31.0			35.0		$17,634	$759	$13,808
Nelson County High School	Public	9-12	1070 Bloomfield Rd	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Nelson County	No	No	No	Yes	(502) 349-7010	756	47	16.1	51.9%	670 (88.6%)	14 (1.9%)	42 (5.6%)	5 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (3.2%)	21	214^th of 262 public high schools	18.3%		38.8	170^th of 254 public high schools	33.1%	44							34.0							39.0			11.0			21.0			24.0			31.0	$21,569	$719	$16,537
The Academy at Horizons	Public, Alternative	K-12	304 Wildcat Lane	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Nelson County	No	No	No	No	(502) 349-7045	38	8	4.7	86.8%	31 (81.6%)	1 (2.6%)	2 (5.3%)	1 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (7.9%)								(n/a)
Thomas Nelson High School	Public	9-12	150 Generals Blvd	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Nelson County	No	No	No	Yes	(502) 349-4650	629	33	19.3	43.9%	591 (94.0%)	8 (1.3%)	18 (2.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.6%)	36.2	167^th of 262 public high schools	36.3%		42.1	162^nd of 254 public high schools	36.2%	5							39.0							46.0			17.0			40.0			26.0			37.0	$23,007	$824	$16,885
The Up Center	Public	6-12	1060 Bloomfield Rd.	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Nelson County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(502) 348-9096	0	7	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Heartland Youth Village	Public, Virtual	6-12	1013 Granite Drive	Bardstown	40004	Nelson County	Nelson County	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(502) 849-3440	15	2	7.5	20.0%	13 (86.7%)	1 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (6.7%)								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 40004

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Bardstown	0.16 mi	14	222^nd
Coxs Creek	5.21 mi	1	202^nd
Boston	10.63 mi	1	266^th
Bloomfield	11.08 mi	2	269^th
New Haven	12.84 mi	1	284^th

See the top KY Kentucky cities

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.