Summary:
ZIP code 40517 has seven schools in Fayette County: four elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school, serving students from elementary through high school. In 2025–2026, the elementary schools averaged 35% across matched tests, 9 points below the state’s 44%; the middle schools averaged 45%, 3 points above the state’s 42%; and the high school averaged 37%, 2 points below the state’s 39%. The clearest overall contrast is that elementary results were below state averages while middle-school results were above them.
Tates Creek Elementary School was the elementary standout: its average was 40%, compared with 33% for the other three elementary schools, a 7-point advantage, though it remained 4 points below the state average. At the other end, Millcreek Elementary School averaged 30%; the range between it and Tates Creek was 10 points. Writing showed an even wider difference: grade 5 results ranged from 14% at Lansdowne Elementary School to 40% at Tates Creek. Among middle schools, Southern Middle School averaged 47%, 4 points above Tates Creek Middle School and 5 points above the state average.
Results improved over time: the average across all matched tests rose from 35% in 2024–2025 to 38% in 2025–2026, while the state average stayed about 43%; the gap narrowed from 8 points to 5. All seven schools’ averages increased, by 1 to 6 points. SchoolDigger rankings also rose: Southern Middle moved from the 33rd to the 68th percentile, while Southern Elementary School shifted from the 25th to the 28th. For added context, in 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 53% at Southern Middle and 57% at Tates Creek Middle; their student-teacher ratios were similar, at 13.6 and 13.4. Tates Creek High School had a 95% graduation rate, but chronic absenteeism was 46%, compared with 24% statewide, and its subject results were mixed: above the state in science and social studies but below in math and reading.
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